Delays to a potential military strike against Syria and some better-than-expected economic data from China gave stock markets a big boost in early trading on Monday.China's official manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) rose to the 51.0 point mark in August, according to the National Bureau of Statistics and China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing in Beijing. The consensus estimate had been for a reading of 50.6 and comes after a print of 50.3 in July.Mining stocks were lifted by the strong figures from Asia's top metals user, while heightened M&A speculation at Vodafone lifted the FTSE 100 by around 1.3% in morning trade.Fears of imminent US military action against Syria were calmed over the weekend after President Barack Obama said he would seek approval from Congress before signing off on a strike."Obama, like his UK counterpart, David Cameron, is likely to face staunch opposition from both inside and outside his party, to military action, with memories of the hugely unpopular war in Iraq still fresh in people's memories," said Market Analyst Craig Erlam from Alpari."Investors are unsurprisingly pleased with this delay, with the risk aversion seen towards the end of last week subsiding and money pouring back into European stocks," he said.FTSE 100: Vodafone jumps on "advanced discussions"Vodafone jumped early on after saying it was in "advanced" talks with Verizon Communications about selling its 45% stake in Verizon Wireless for $130bn (£84bn). Verizon Communications would mainly pay in cash and shares.Mining stocks were performing well this morning after data from China impressed. Vedanta Resources was a high riser after Liberum Capital upgraded the stock to 'buy', with Anglo American, Glencore Xstrata and Antofagasta following closely behind.Diversified mining group Rio Tinto was also in demand after loading the first shipment of iron ore from its expanded port, rail and mine operations in Australia. Rio said this was a "significant milestone" and marks the start of commissioning of the expansion programme, which is expected to see the company's iron ore operations in Western Australia increase capacity to 290m tonnes a year.Oil stocks were out of favour as crude prices edged lower. West Texas oil continues to pull back after hitting a two-year high last week on concerns that tensions in Syria could spill over to surrounding regions, leading to potential supply disruptions across the Middle East. Producers BP and Shell were in the red early on.Tullow Oil however managed to buck the trend, rising in morning trade despite saying it has plugged and abandoned its Buzio-1 exploration well offshore Mozambique after failing to encounter hydrocarbons. FTSE 100 - RisersAnglo American (AAL) 1,535.00p +3.82%Vedanta Resources (VED) 1,206.00p +3.79%Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,016.50p +3.55%Vodafone Group (VOD) 213.50p +3.52%International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 294.50p +2.86%BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,931.00p +2.82%Antofagasta (ANTO) 878.50p +2.75%Standard Life (SL.) 340.20p +2.72%BT Group (BT.A) 334.00p +2.67%Glencore Xstrata (GLEN) 313.30p +2.65%FTSE 100 - FallersRoyal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 2,072.50p -0.72%Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 2,159.00p -0.64%BP (BP.) 445.50p -0.16%FTSE 250 - RisersFerrexpo (FXPO) 175.60p +5.66%Inmarsat (ISAT) 724.50p +4.24%Petra Diamonds Ltd.(DI) (PDL) 125.00p +4.08%Diploma (DPLM) 623.50p +3.92%Henderson Group (HGG) 170.90p +3.58%International Personal Finance (IPF) 615.00p +3.27%Menzies(John) (MNZS) 778.00p +3.11%Centamin (DI) (CEY) 44.91p +3.10%KCOM Group (KCOM) 87.10p +3.08%Salamander Energy (SMDR) 131.90p +3.05%FTSE 250 - FallersBumi (BUMI) 212.90p -2.16%Euromoney Institutional Investor (ERM) 1,190.00p -1.00%Ocado Group (OCDO) 328.90p -0.48%United Drug (UDG) 337.40p -0.47%Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 1,423.00p -0.42%African Barrick Gold (ABG) 189.20p -0.42%DCC (DCC) 2,554.00p -0.20%Michael Page International (MPI) 462.10p -0.17%Ted Baker (TED) 1,867.00p -0.16%Xaar (XAR) 812.00p -0.12%BC
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