Markets rose strongly on Thursday as investors reacted to dovish comments from central banks across the globe, upbeat economic data and well-received results from UK banking group Lloyds.The FTSE 100 finished 61 points higher at 6,682 today, rising to levels not seen since the end of May."The theme of maintaining the status quo has underpinned equity markets today after both the Bank of England and European Central Bank [ECB] kept monetary policy unchanged," said Senior Market Analyst Michael Hewson from CMC Markets.The US Federal Reserve also kept policy on hold last night, choosing not to yet scale back its quantitative easing (QE) programme, as was widely expected. While the Fed said that downside risks had diminished, it would continue with QE in order to "support a stronger economic recovery".In this afternoon's press conference after the ECB decision, President Mario Draghi reassured markets by saying the Governing Council had unanimously decided that interest rates would stay at or below current levels "for an extended period of time". This is despite signs of improvement across the Eurozone, as was evident in the economic figures released today: the region's manufacturing sector returned to growth for the first time in two years in July as factory output improved, according to Markit's Eurozone manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI).Manufacturing PMIs from the UK, US and China also showed an improvement last month, with activity across all three countries showing growth. FTSE 100: Lloyds impresses with bottom-line growthLloyds jumped after reporting a huge increase in underlying profits in the first half, helped by rising income and margins as well as reductions in costs and impairments. Rising hopes for the resumption of dividends was also boosting sentiment this morning.Miners were also performing well with Fresnillo, Anglo American, Glencore Xstrata, Vedanta and Randgold making decent gains. BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto meanwhile were given a lift by Espirito Santo which upgraded both stocks to 'buy'.Heading the other way was Aggreko, which supplies temporary power and temperature control. The share price slumped after the firm saw 2.0% drop in pre-tax profits to £144m for the first six months due to poor trading in its Power Projects business. Royal Dutch Shell's earnings for the second quarter also failed to impress, dropping sharply from $6.0bn to just $2.4bn mainly due to impairments.BAE Systems rose after hiking its half-year dividend and saying it expected to produce double-digit earnings growth in 2013 providing it concludes its Saudi jet deal.Pharmaceuticals group AstraZeneca was subdued after a 4.0% fall (at constant exchange rates) in second-quarter revenue to $6.23bn partly due to the loss of exclusive on several of its key brands.FTSE 250: Fund manager Jupiter rockets after strong first halfShares in Jupiter Fund Management leapt on Thursday on the back of a strong set of half-year numbers which showed a strong investment performance and a nearly doubling of profits year-on-year. The results prompted the company to raise its interim dividend by two fifths.Communications technology company Spirent Communications wasn't far behind as traders focused on a pick-up in order intake in the second quarter, shrugging off a steep fall in revenues and profits in the first half.FTSE 100 - RisersLloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 74.00p +8.08%Fresnillo (FRES) 1,084.00p +5.34%Anglo American (AAL) 1,483.00p +5.33%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 333.50p +5.01%Glencore Xstrata (GLEN) 289.55p +4.34%IMI (IMI) 1,422.00p +3.64%Vedanta Resources (VED) 1,205.00p +3.61%Antofagasta (ANTO) 913.50p +3.57%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 4,914.00p +3.02%Wolseley (WOS) 3,237.00p +2.89%FTSE 100 - FallersAggreko (AGK) 1,643.00p -7.70%Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 2,133.00p -4.69%Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 2,218.00p -4.38%RSA Insurance Group (RSA) 122.90p -1.68%Admiral Group (ADM) 1,381.00p -1.57%Bunzl (BNZL) 1,398.00p -0.78%ITV (ITV) 167.70p -0.53%Pearson (PSON) 1,344.00p -0.44%Capita (CPI) 1,041.00p -0.19%AstraZeneca (AZN) 3,334.00p -0.03%FTSE 250 - RisersKenmare Resources (KMR) 29.40p +11.36%Spirent Communications (SPT) 146.90p +11.20%Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) 360.00p +10.91%Enterprise Inns (ETI) 142.20p +9.98%Grainger (GRI) 187.50p +7.76%Dialight (DIA) 1,170.00p +6.27%Henderson Group (HGG) 174.00p +6.03%UBM (UBM) 752.50p +5.76%St. Modwen Properties (SMP) 333.00p +5.35%Workspace Group (WKP) 475.00p +5.18%FTSE 250 - FallersOcado Group (OCDO) 288.60p -6.15%Salamander Energy (SMDR) 117.00p -2.01%Dairy Crest Group (DCG) 500.50p -1.86%Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 1,400.00p -1.75%Redrow (RDW) 241.20p -1.55%Rathbone Brothers (RAT) 1,645.00p -1.50%Supergroup (SGP) 1,063.00p -1.21%Inmarsat (ISAT) 676.00p -1.10%Anite (AIE) 127.10p -1.09%Intu Properties (INTU) 333.00p -1.07%BC
Last checked at 
