London open: Stocks rise as eyes turn to BoE, ECB

4th Jul 2013 08:25

The FTSE 100 rebounded strongly on Thursday morning after a sell-off the day before, as traders took advantage of thin volumes with markets in the States shut for Independence Day.The Bank of England (BoE) and European Central Bank (ECB) policy decisions will be in focus today with little economic data elsewhere to detract investors' attention.Both parties are widely expected to leave current monetary policies unchanged, though this afternoon's press conference with ECB chief Mario Draghi will be closely watched, given the uneasy political situation in Portugal after the resignation of two senior ministers over recent days.The conference "will see the market test Draghi's whatever-it-takes pledge in case the situation in Portugal deteriorates and the country needs financial assistance", according to Market Strategist Ishaq Siddiqi from ETX Capital.Traders are also likely be on edge ahead of the all-important US jobs report scheduled for Friday afternoon, an event that it likely to factor into the Federal Reserve's decision on whether or not to begin 'tapering' stimulus. Meanwhile, crude prices remained elevated this morning, with West Texas Intermediate trading near a 14-month high, on concerns over supply from the Middle East after the removal of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi by the military. Unrest across the country has prompted fears that the flows along the Suez Canal and Suez-Mediterranean Pipeline could be affected. FTSE 100: easyJet flying high after traffic numbersBudget airline easyJet advanced after reporting a 1.9% increase in passenger numbers in June. Investors were shrugging off the news that the airline cancelled 585 flights during the month (compared to 22 flights a year ago), due to the French Air Traffic Control strike. Wood Group was performing well after securing its sixth major North Sea contract extension this year. It has won a three-year contract from Nexen Petroleum UK to deliver operations, maintenance and technical support services to the Scott and Buzzard platforms.Banks were also providing support this morning after upbeat comments from Nomura, which said that optimism within the housing sector is building, "a positive sign for the performance of banks". The broker upgraded Lloyds to 'neutral', but continued to label HSBC as its top pick. RBS and Barclays were also trading higher this morning.FTSE 250: Housebuilders jump early onBritish housebuilder Redrow surged after saying that its full-year profit will be above the top end range of market expectations as revenue rose 26% to £604.8m. The company said results for the year to June 30th were driven by a 15% increase in the number of homes legally completed to 282. Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey also rose after trading at the upper end of company expectations during the first half of its financial year, following improvements across most of its markets in the UK. Sector peers Bellway and Barratt Developments also advanced this morning. However, Galliford Try was bucked the trend, slipping into the red despite saying that it has delivered record profits this year.FTSE 100 - RisersGKN (GKN) 314.60p +2.21%BG Group (BG.) 1,128.00p +2.04%Tate & Lyle (TATE) 833.50p +1.96%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 274.90p +1.81%Barclays (BARC) 285.50p +1.69%Wood Group (John) (WG.) 834.00p +1.58%Shire Plc (SHP) 2,128.00p +1.58%SABMiller (SAB) 3,166.00p +1.57%Rio Tinto (RIO) 2,689.00p +1.51%Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 447.90p +1.50%FTSE 100 - FallersReckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 4,654.00p -1.10%Capita (CPI) 987.00p -0.45%CRH (CRH) 1,289.00p -0.23%Whitbread (WTB) 3,113.00p -0.22%Hammerson (HMSO) 501.00p -0.20%British Sky Broadcasting Group (BSY) 812.50p -0.18%Pearson (PSON) 1,194.00p -0.08%G4S (GFS) 226.30p -0.04%FTSE 250 - RisersCentamin (DI) (CEY) 35.37p +13.55%Redrow (RDW) 230.00p +3.60%Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 100.00p +3.15%Fidessa Group (FDSA) 1,948.00p +2.63%Crest Nicholson Holdings (CRST) 331.30p +2.25%Bellway (BWY) 1,335.00p +2.14%Mondi (MNDI) 827.50p +2.10%Computacenter (CCC) 481.10p +2.04%ITE Group (ITE) 306.10p +2.03%Barratt Developments (BDEV) 324.20p +1.95%FTSE 250 - FallersDunelm Group (DNLM) 925.00p -2.48%COLT Group SA (COLT) 98.00p -2.00%Domino's Pizza Group (DOM) 631.00p -1.64%Hochschild Mining (HOC) 160.90p -1.59%Alent (ALNT) 348.90p -1.30%Rank Group (RNK) 152.00p -1.30%Caledonia Investments (CLDN) 1,803.00p -1.21%United Drug (UDG) 326.30p -1.12%IP Group (IPO) 138.00p -1.08%Rathbone Brothers (RAT) 1,574.00p -0.94%