Stocks are posting big gains amid optimism following the agreements reached on the Eurozone situation last night. Banks in particular are on the attack, with Barclays and RBS posting double-digit gains.EUROZONE AGREEMENT BOOSTS THE MARKETSWorking into the early hours of the morning, Eurozone officials reached agreements on a host of issues. "At first glance details seem to be lacking in some regards, but there do seem to be firm agreements in place on many key issues; that may well be what matters most to markets (credible structural reforms aside) given that they can still count on the European Central Bank for an effective 'backstop' for now," according to analysts at Digital Look.The Eurozone and the Institute for International Finance (IIF) have agreed on a voluntary 'haircut' on Greek debt of 50%, which is expected to allow the country to reduce its stock of debt to 120% of GDP by the year 2020 from 160% now. As well, the Eurozone will offer €30bn in credit enhancements to the private sector in exchange.An agreement has also been reached on increasing the size of the European Financial Stability Fund. The amount remaining, following aid payments so far to periphery nations, and which is approximately €290bn, will be leveraged by around 4-5 times, producing a headline figure of around €1tn.A June 30 2012 deadline has been set for lenders to raise their levels of 'core capital' to 9% once sovereign debt holdings have been written down, after the European Banking Authority identified a capital shortfall of €106bn after re-valuing market-rate sovereign debt. Banks also have until Christmas day this year to submit recapitalisation plans to national supervisors.Seperately, leaders expressed to Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi the urgent need to set an "ambitious timetable" to boost economic growth and cut debt. In exchange Berlusconi vowed to raise €5bn annually from asset sales, increase the retirement age and relax labour laws. Chancellor George Osborne is updating Parliament on the the eurozone deal struck overnight and what it will mean for the UK. He called for greater fiscal union among countries using the euro and said that UK banks would not need to raise new capital under the plans.BANKS, MINERS CELEBRATE EU DEALSThe banks and the miners soared in the opening minutes as the Eurozone agreements attempt to combat the ongoing debt crisis in Europe, thus raising optimism for the global economy outlook.UK lenders Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds and mining peers Xstrata, Rio Tinto and Kazakhmys, all saw their share prices rise sharply Investors seemed to take no notice that Kazakhmys this morning reported falling output and grades across all its metal groups in the third quarter.Tullow Oil was the only stock registering a loss this morning. Oil peer Royal Dutch Shell reported that it had doubled its earnings in the third quarter. However, the shares rose by just 1%, underperforming the relative FTSE 100, after reporting that output was slightly lower.Pharmaceuticals giant AstraZeneca's rise was also rather subdued, at just 0.5%, after it reported that revenues fell 2% at constant currency in the third quarter.Laird rose strongly on the FTSE 250 after announcing that revenue from continuing operations rose by 18% in the third quarter, as it attempts to shake off its underperforming businesses.However, one stock in particular has failed to join the party today. Croda International, which makes speciality chemicals for products such as leather finishes and sealants, has seen a 5.1% growth in revenue in its third quarter compared to the same period of 2010. Group sales came in at £265.6m up from £252.6m in 2010, with most parts of the business seeing an improving trend during the quarter. FTSE 100 - RisersBarclays (BARC) 202.25p +13.24%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 27.32p +10.25%Vedanta Resources (VED) 1,370.00p +8.99%Xstrata (XTA) 1,086.50p +8.33%Ashmore Group (ASHM) 351.70p +8.08%Aviva (AV.) 372.60p +8.00%Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,563.50p +7.98%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 1,002.00p +7.86%IMI (IMI) 861.00p +7.22%GKN (GKN) 206.50p +6.72%FTSE 100 - FallersDiageo (DGE) 1,298.50p -1.18%United Utilities Group (UU.) 612.00p -0.89%National Grid (NG.) 634.50p -0.86%Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 3,235.00p -0.77%GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,383.50p -0.68%Shire Plc (SHP) 1,996.00p -0.45%Imperial Tobacco Group (IMT) 2,270.00p -0.44%Unilever (ULVR) 2,082.00p -0.43%British American Tobacco (BATS) 2,884.00p -0.41%AstraZeneca (AZN) 3,031.00p -0.35%FTSE 250 - RisersLaird (LRD) 155.00p +11.51%Talvivaara Mining Company (TALV) 247.30p +9.67%Ferrexpo (FXPO) 335.40p +8.65%Spectris (SXS) 1,319.00p +8.20%Barratt Developments (BDEV) 96.45p +8.01%Intermediate Capital Group (ICP) 251.60p +7.43%Michael Page International (MPI) 409.20p +6.29%Aquarius Platinum Ltd. (AQP) 189.90p +6.27%Ashtead Group (AHT) 174.00p +6.03%Morgan Crucible Co (MGCR) 291.50p +6.00%FTSE 250 - FallersCroda International (CRDA) 1,840.00p -2.18%SDL (SDL) 632.00p -2.02%Premier Foods (PFD) 4.00p -0.79%BH Macro Ltd. EUR Shares (BHME) € 19.15 -0.52%BH Global Ltd. GBP Shares (BHGG) 1,185.00p -0.42%RPC Group (RPC) 353.00p -0.37%PZ Cussons (PZC) 360.70p -0.36%Rank Group (RNK) 139.70p -0.21%BH Macro Ltd. GBP Shares (BHMG) 1,966.00p -0.20%QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 116.80p -0.17%---RG
Last checked at 
