- ZEW survey tipped to rise in November- FOMC minutes in focus- easyJet reports strong annual profit growthtechMARK 2,640.79 -0.47%FTSE 100 6,684.07 -0.59%FTSE 250 15,241.76 -0.32%UK markets opened firmly lower on Tuesday morning as investors refrained from building positions ahead of a key reading of German investor confidence.The German ZEW economic sentiment survey, which attempts to predict economic conditions in six months' time, is expected to rise to 54 in November, from 52.8 the month before. The report comes a day after Bundesbank said Europe's biggest economy is growing solidly and its upturn will likely be consolidated in the coming months.However, with the economic data schedule on the whole again pretty light, the focus will remain on tomorrow's release of the minutes of October's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC). Although few are still expecting the Fed to begin scaling back its asset purchase programme this year - especially after Fed Chair nominee Janet Yellen's dovish comments last week - investors will be watching closely for hints of a potential time frame for the 'taper'. "With Fed head [Ben] Bernanke on his way out in a matter of months, the market will be closely scrutinising the minutes to gauge a better understanding of his last possible moves as the Chairman," said Head of Trading Joe Rundle from ETX Capital.US markets finished mixed last night after the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 briefly topped record intraday levels of 16,000 and 1,800, respectively.Concerns over the recent run on equity markets dampened sentiment on Monday after US activist investor Carl Icahn was reported as saying that a "big drop" could be around the corner. According to Reuters, Icahn said he was "very cautious on equities today" given that valuations are rich and earnings are bolstered by low borrowing costs rather than management's efforts to lift results.easyJet flying high as profits surgeBudget airline easyJet gained early on after boosting annual profits by more than half and saying it is returning £308m to shareholders. easyJet said its allocated seating strategy, website improvements and its Europe by easyJet advertising campaign helped it to boost pre-tax profit in the year to September 30th rose 51% to £478m.Investment in its television productions paid off for ITV in the third quarter, with revenues rising ahead of guidance and audience share swelling to boost future advertising potential. The stock advanced strongly in morning trade.Heading the other way was Intertek as the product testing firm said that the industry-wide headwinds experienced in the first half have persisted for longer than expected.Mining stocks were largely out of favour this morning with Fresnillo, Vedanta, Anglo American, Antofagasta and Rio Tinto tracking metals prices lower.Fund manager Aberdeen was in the red, pulling back after a 15% surge on Monday following the announced acquisition of the Scottish Widows Investment Partnership Group from Lloyds, as well a strong increase in annual profits. Numis downgraded the stock to 'hold' this morning but lifted its target price from 465p to 495p.FTSE 100 - RiserseasyJet (EZJ) 1,330.00p +5.89%Amec (AMEC) 1,184.00p +1.46%GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,625.50p +0.74%Capita (CPI) 983.50p +0.67%National Grid (NG.) 779.00p +0.58%SSE (SSE) 1,393.00p +0.29%TUI Travel (TT.) 388.30p +0.28%British Sky Broadcasting Group (BSY) 823.50p +0.18%Imperial Tobacco Group (IMT) 2,429.00p +0.12%British American Tobacco (BATS) 3,381.00p +0.06%FTSE 100 - FallersIntertek Group (ITRK) 3,035.00p -4.59%Aberdeen Asset Management (ADN) 477.00p -2.59%William Hill (WMH) 359.80p -2.44%Vedanta Resources (VED) 966.00p -2.28%Anglo American (AAL) 1,410.00p -1.98%Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,406.00p -1.88%Fresnillo (FRES) 898.50p -1.86%Antofagasta (ANTO) 797.50p -1.85%Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 1,179.00p -1.75%Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,211.50p -1.62%FTSE 250 - RisersAfren (AFR) 159.80p +7.32%Enterprise Inns (ETI) 148.00p +7.25%Keller Group (KLR) 1,053.00p +4.78%Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 144.40p +2.78%Redrow (RDW) 265.00p +1.81%AL Noor Hospitals Group (ANH) 860.00p +1.78%Serco Group (SRP) 430.00p +1.49%Centamin (DI) (CEY) 51.10p +1.39%COLT Group SA (COLT) 130.10p +1.25%Homeserve (HSV) 247.00p +1.19%FTSE 250 - FallersPolymetal International (POLY) 541.50p -2.61%Ladbrokes (LAD) 173.70p -2.53%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 243.20p -2.33%IG Group Holdings (IGG) 600.50p -2.28%Lonmin (LMI) 324.90p -2.23%Bwin.party Digital Entertainment (BPTY) 130.60p -2.17%Ferrexpo (FXPO) 182.60p -1.99%Hochschild Mining (HOC) 137.40p -1.86%Investec (INVP) 426.40p -1.64%Synthomer (SYNT) 232.80p -1.56%BC
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