BP Share News (BP.)

After a mixed morning session, London's top shares kicked on in the afternoon, buoyed by Wall Street's strength.Bulls seized upon comments by New York Fed President William Dudley who opined that the US economy is not yet firing on enough cylinders to make a serious dent in the jobless numbers. The comments echoed those made the day before by the Fed's vice-chairperson, Janet Yellen. Yellen said she anticipated that the US would fall "far short" in achieving its maximum employment objective. Though both Fed members stopped short of suggesting that the US central bank ought to do more to grease the wheels of the US economy, the possibility evidently remains on the agenda and, at the very least, so the bulls argue, it means that low interest rates are here to stay for a while yet.Miners wanted ahead of China's GDP figuresMining stocks were wanted as speculation rose that China's gross domestic product (GDP) data for the first quarter, due to be released tomorrow, may prove to be better than expected.Economists are forecasting an annual increase of 8.3% in GDP, whch would represent a slow-down from the previous quarter's 8.9% year-on-year growth.Rio Tinto led the sector higher.Banking stocks were also wanted, with Barclays and Lloyds the stand-out stocks in the sector. Lloyds said talks with the Co-Op about the sale of 632 Lloyds branches are still taking place. The announcement followed a proposal from financial investment company NBNK, which is also interested in buying the branches.Anglo-Dutch oil group Royal Dutch Shell fell sharply in the morning session on the back of reports of a 10-by-one mile oil sheen near to one of its platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. The stock wiped out almost all of the morning's losses after the company said it does not believe the oil slick emanates from any of its wells in the area.Sticking with the blue-chips, engineering giant GKN was a high riser after an upgrade from Credit Suisse which upped its rating from neutral to outperform. Elsewhere in the engineering sector Rolls-Royce was buoyed by winning a turbine contract from the US navy.Temporary power and temperature control solutions group Aggreko jumped after reporting 21% growth in underlying group revenue in the first quarter. Making Hays while the sun shinesRecruitment firm Hays surged after saying that full-year operating profit is likely to come in at the top end of market expectations following a strong third quarter. Impressive growth in net fees overseas offset a slight decline in the UK and Ireland.Egyptian gold miner Centamin rose strongly after seeing total production grow 9% in the first quarter despite strike activity during the period. Sector peer Petropavlovsk pulled out of the tail-spin it has been in since the start of February after the company announced a sharp increase in gold production in the first quarter.Residential property owner Grainger was also in demand after saying that completed sales from its UK and German portfolios in the first half were ahead of the prior year.Highs and lows on the High StreetJD Sports Fashion, which sells sportswear for people who are not necessarily interested in participating in sporting activity, headed backwards after it said its margins are under pressure as even fashion-conscious consumers are looking for bargain prices on designer-labelled products.In contrast, baby and toddler products seller Mothercare was wanted, despite the company binning its dividend to save cash for its three-year turnaround programme, which has been given the support of its banks. The company intends to close another 111 UK stores as it continues its withdrawal from the high streets of Britain. Mothercare plans to reshape its UK operations around a profitable core of 200 stores, comprising 95 out of town stores and 105 High Street stores. Of these, 173 stores will carry the Mothercare brand and 27 are Early Learning Centres.Another company reducing its High Street presence is pubs group Punch Taverns. The group's shares took a leathering as it announced underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation sank to £128.3m in the 28 weeks to March 3rd from £138.6m in the corresponding period of the previous year. Like-for-like income in Punch's core estate - i.e. the best performing pubs - fell 2.1% from the corresponding six month period a year earlier.Elsewhere in the mid-cap sector, supply chain management specialist Umeco shot up after an agreed bid at 550p per share from Cytec Industries.FTSE 100 - RisersGKN (GKN) 203.30p +6.16%Barclays (BARC) 223.45p +5.35%Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,487.00p +4.51%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 31.91p +4.33%Aberdeen Asset Management (ADN) 267.50p +4.09%Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 2,359.00p +4.01%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 5,610.00p +3.79%Croda International (CRDA) 2,144.00p +3.62%ITV (ITV) 86.10p +3.61%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 896.50p +3.16%FTSE 100 - FallersResolution Ltd. (RSL) 248.50p -0.84%Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 2,125.00p -0.75%Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 2,174.00p -0.50%Centrica (CNA) 315.60p -0.38%Smith & Nephew (SN.) 612.50p -0.33%Man Group (EMG) 115.40p -0.26%FTSE 250 - RisersHays (HAS) 88.50p +8.92%Cable & Wireless Worldwide (CW.) 35.46p +7.81%Morgan Crucible Co (MGCR) 331.00p +5.72%Ocado Group (OCDO) 111.30p +5.70%Kesa Electricals (KESA) 65.15p +5.68%Laird (LRD) 222.00p +5.46%Ashtead Group (AHT) 250.40p +5.39%Salamander Energy (SMDR) 235.50p +5.37%Elementis (ELM) 193.90p +5.32%Bodycote (BOY) 398.70p +5.20%FTSE 250 - FallersAfrican Barrick Gold (ABG) 351.20p -5.26%Betfair Group (BET) 833.00p -3.64%SDL (SDL) 729.00p -2.15%TR Property Inv Trust Sigma Shares (TRYS) 66.00p -1.35%Anglo Pacific Group (APF) 296.50p -1.17%Hiscox Ltd. (HSX) 399.40p -1.16%Supergroup (SGP) 600.00p -1.15%Brown (N.) Group (BWNG) 225.00p -1.10%Marston's (MARS) 97.35p -1.07%Dairy Crest Group (DCG) 315.20p -1.07%FTSE TechMARK - RisersOxford Biomedica (OXB) 3.52p +19.73%Sepura (SEPU) 55.50p +4.72%Vectura Group (VEC) 60.75p +4.29%Anite (AIE) 127.50p +4.08%FTSE TechMARK - FallersNCC Group (NCC) 858.00p -2.94%Kofax (KFX) 301.00p -2.27%JH