ENRC.L Share News (ENRC)

Better-than-expected trade figures from China helped push markets in positive territory on Thursday morning but sentiment was still fragile following the heavy sell-off the day before.Concerns about a tapering of stimulus by the Federal Reserve and an underwhelming forward guidance statement from the Bank of England left a 1.4% dent in the value of the FTSE 100 on Wednesday, which fell to levels not seen in nearly a month.Helping stocks this morning were Chinese exports which jumped by an annual rate of 5.1% in July, better than the 2.0% rise expected, while imports surged 10.9% (forecast: +1.0%)."While there has been an awful lot of debate about the accuracy or otherwise of some of this trade data, some of the most recent measures by Chinese authorities to lower tax rates for small business could well be having a stimulative effect," said Senior Market Analyst Michael Hewson from CMC Markets. "To confirm this better picture tomorrow's industrial production number needs to confirm today's improvement."Nevertheless, worries about the tapering of US stimulus are likely to still be on investors' minds as more Fed officials throw weight behind the argument to scale back quantitative easing soon. Sandra Pianalto, President of the Fed Bank of Cleveland, sparked falls on Wall Street last night after saying that there has been "clearer signs of a more sustained recovery" in the labour market over the last few months. "In light of this progress, and if the labour market remains on the stronger path that it has followed since last fall, then I would be prepared to scale back the monthly pace of asset purchases," she said.The US labour market will again be in focus today as markets await the latest jobless claims figures. Some 335,000 people are expected to have filed for unemployment benefits last week, slightly higher than the five-and-a-half-year low of 326,000 reported the week before.FTSE 100: Aviva impresses with H1 reportAviva was providing a lift this morning with the share price surging after the insurer swung to a profit before tax (PBT) of £776m in the first half, compared with a £624m loss a year before. "In the first half we have taken a number of steps to deliver our investment thesis of cash flow and growth. These results show satisfactory progress in Aviva's turnaround," said Chief Executive Mark Wilson. Sector peer Standard Life was heading the other way as investors gave a cool reaction to its own half-year report which saw operating PBT rise 6.0% to £304m. The company said it saw record long-term savings new business sales of £12.2bn during the period.A 25% increase in first-half PBT at Schroders also wasn't enough to excite investors as shares fell sharply this morning. The company said assets under management were up 21% to £235.7bn compared to a year earlier while net inflows jumped 67% to £4.5bn. Mining stocks were performing well this morning, recovering after bearing the brunt of recent falls in risk appetite as of late. Antofagasta, Fresnillo, Glencore Xstrata, Anglo American, BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and ENRC were all higher early on, though Vedanta was subdued after Liberum Capital downgraded the stock to 'hold'.FTSE 250: Ladbrokes, Enterprise Inns lower after resultsBookmaker Ladbrokes was a heavy faller this morning after seeing operating profits fall in the first half due to increased costs and tax and the lack of a major football tournament. Meanwhile, leased and tenanted pubs operator Enterprise Inns was out of favour after saying that that it was unlikely to deliver like-for-like growth in the second half in total despite improved trading in the fourth quarter.FTSE 100 - RisersAviva (AV.) 393.90p +6.23%Antofagasta (ANTO) 874.00p +3.49%Glencore Xstrata (GLEN) 278.70p +3.05%Anglo American (AAL) 1,432.50p +2.69%Fresnillo (FRES) 953.50p +2.31%Old Mutual (OML) 201.50p +1.72%Aggreko (AGK) 1,656.00p +1.53%BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,872.00p +1.49%Rio Tinto (RIO) 2,988.00p +1.17%Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 486.50p +0.91%FTSE 100 - FallersSchroders (SDR) 2,324.00p -7.08%Amec (AMEC) 1,049.00p -2.42%Standard Life (SL.) 382.00p -1.39%easyJet (EZJ) 1,368.00p -1.30%BAE Systems (BA.) 444.40p -0.96%Unilever (ULVR) 2,554.00p -0.70%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 4,336.00p -0.69%Centrica (CNA) 390.00p -0.61%Resolution Ltd. (RSL) 328.60p -0.60%Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,299.00p -0.54%FTSE 250 - Risersesure Group (ESUR) 250.80p +3.64%Henderson Group (HGG) 175.10p +3.00%Spirax-Sarco Engineering (SPX) 2,975.00p +2.91%Polymetal International (POLY) 671.50p +2.91%Mondi (MNDI) 1,014.00p +2.89%Perform Group (PER) 550.00p +2.71%Hochschild Mining (HOC) 179.60p +2.34%Kenmare Resources (KMR) 29.00p +2.33%Diploma (DPLM) 617.00p +2.32%Redrow (RDW) 256.80p +2.31%FTSE 250 - FallersLadbrokes (LAD) 203.00p -2.26%Ferrexpo (FXPO) 182.00p -1.62%Fidessa Group (FDSA) 2,049.00p -1.54%Alent (ALNT) 350.00p -1.44%Interserve (IRV) 501.00p -1.28%Carillion (CLLN) 296.00p -1.17%Cobham (COB) 296.50p -1.00%Enterprise Inns (ETI) 139.80p -0.64%Synergy Health (SYR) 1,120.00p -0.62%Berendsen (BRSN) 836.00p -0.59%BC