Lloyds Share News (LLOY)

- Corporate earnings lift sentiment- UK June retail sales meet forecasts as prices drop- Kingfisher falls after rain dampens salesEuropean stock markets were firmly in the blue on Thursday morning on the back a barrage of upbeat quarterly earnings reports from blue chips across the globe."A combination between a quiet Eurozone and better than expected corporate earnings are really lifting sentiment," said analyst Craig Erlam from Alpari. Heavyweight companies from across the globe have boosted the mood with their earnings today, including eBay, Nokia, AkzoNobel, Sandvik and Novartis. Morgan Stanley, Microsoft and Google are expected to release their results later today.UK retail sales volumes increased by 0.1% month-on-month (1.6% year-on-year) during the month of June, according to the latest data available from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The consensus estimate had been for a rise of 0.6% month-on-month (2.4% year-on-year).Meanwhile, investors will be digesting last night's release of the Federal Reserve's Beige Bookwhich said that the US economic grew at a "modest to moderate" pace over the last month. Stocks closed higher yesterday after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said that he does not expect the US economy to slip back into recession. Analyst Cooper Howes from Barclays Capital said:"The Fed will not feel compelled to act (or not act) on this report alone, and the decision of whether or not to pursue further monetary stimulus will depend on developments in the economic data and financial markets between now and the [next] meeting." FTSE 100: Rainfall dampens growth at Kingfisher Kingfisher, Europe's largest home improvement retailer, was among the worst performers after sales were hit by the extraordinary bad weather in the second quarter, though trading in the UK and Ireland was resilient. ??Engineering groups IMI, GKN and Weir was high risers after Swedish peer Sandvik released better-than-expected second-quarter results. Meanwhile, Croda International gained on the back of positive read-across from AkzoNobel. ??Natural gas group BG was under the weather after Credit Suisse downgraded the stock to 'neutral' and cut its target price from 1,660p to 1,500p. Mining firm Vedanta dropped after HSBC slashed its target from 1,320p to 1,000p, though it maintained its 'overweight' rating. ??Banking group Lloyds was higher after it agreed with the Co-op to sell hundreds of its branches for an initial consideration of £350m, and up to an additional £400m in present value. ?FTSE 250: Board changes move stocksHalfords advanced after saying that Chief Executive David Wild is on his bike leaving the non-executive Chairman Dennis Millard in charge of the shop while the struggling seller of bikes and car parts looks for a replacement. The group also reported that LFL sales gained 0.9% in the five weeks to June 29th. ??Oilfield services firm Wood Group rose after saying that Chairman Sir Ian Wood is to retire in November and will be succeeded by the group's CEO, Allister Langlands. ??In contrast, West Africa-focused gold miner Avocet Mining fell after it revealed that CEO Brett Richards is to resign and will be replaced by the group's Chief Operating Officer (COO). ??Digging deeper at the Simrit-2 exploration well in the Kurdistan region of Iraq has paid off for oil exploration firm Afren as the well's total net oil pay has increased to 460 metres. Shares jumped 7%. ??Elsewhere, AIM-listed sports retailer JJB dropped after saying that it is having to slow down its refurbishment programme as poor sales mean the group will need an injection of cash from its backers earlier than planned. FTSE 100 - RisersBurberry Group (BRBY) 1,277.00p +3.65%Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 1,495.00p +2.05%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 208.30p +1.96%IMI (IMI) 806.00p +1.90%Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,092.00p +1.87%International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 159.10p +1.79%ICAP (IAP) 316.60p +1.77%Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,093.00p +1.77%Experian (EXPN) 965.00p +1.69%ARM Holdings (ARM) 485.70p +1.59%FTSE 100 - FallersBG Group (BG.) 1,290.00p -2.09%National Grid (NG.) 661.50p -1.34%Kingfisher (KGF) 271.70p -1.27%United Utilities Group (UU.) 687.50p -1.22%Aberdeen Asset Management (ADN) 257.90p -1.00%CRH (CRH) 1,201.00p -0.99%Imperial Tobacco Group (IMT) 2,510.00p -0.95%Fresnillo (FRES) 1,417.00p -0.91%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 5,675.00p -0.61%Centrica (CNA) 320.50p -0.53%FTSE 250 - RisersHalfords Group (HFD) 210.20p +6.48%Afren (AFR) 126.30p +6.22%Paragon Group Of Companies (PAG) 183.90p +5.69%Elementis (ELM) 195.90p +4.42%Fenner (FENR) 351.80p +4.24%TUI Travel (TT.) 176.30p +4.01%Regus (RGU) 88.00p +3.83%Electrocomponents (ECM) 219.30p +3.69%Howden Joinery Group (HWDN) 131.70p +3.54%Cookson Group (CKSN) 628.50p +3.46%FTSE 250 - FallersTalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) 182.20p -4.00%Ashtead Group (AHT) 257.00p -2.69%Ultra Electronics Holdings (ULE) 1,558.00p -2.44%Avocet Mining (AVM) 67.60p -2.31%Lancashire Holdings (LRE) 780.50p -1.20%Bank of Georgia Holdings (BGEO) 1,119.00p -0.89%easyJet (EZJ) 558.50p -0.80%Galliford Try (GFRD) 644.00p -0.77%Gem Diamonds Ltd. (DI) (GEMD) 211.60p -0.70%British Assets Trust (BSET) 118.10p -0.67%BC