Lloyds Share News (LLOY)

The upbeat tone seen from markets in early trading on Friday morning didn't last for long, with the FTSE 100 slipping into the red by midday after some gloomy data from Europe.Strong gains on Wall Street last night prompted a decent start in London this morning on expectations that the Federal Reserve will next week attempt to calm markets worried about an eventual 'tapering' of quantitative easing (QE). Markets have been volatile over recent weeks as economic data from the US continues to improve, sparking speculation that the recovery may be strong enough for the Fed to start pulling the plug. However, a report last night in The Wall Street Journal by prominent 'Fed-watcher' Jon Hilsenrath suggested that the bank is likely to quash fears at its policy meeting next week by reiterating that an adjustment in QE will be gradual and the asset-purchase programme will not end all at once.Meanwhile, Asian markets were also helped higher overnight by the minutes of the later Bank of Japan policy meeting, in which a few policymakers suggested that the central bank could take more action if needed following the aggressive easing programme initiated in April.However, stocks were dampened by a late-morning announcement showing that pace of job destruction increased in both the Eurozone and wider EU in the first quarter. The number of people employed in the Eurozone in the first quarter fell by 0.5% on the preceding three months, and was down 0.2% in the EU. This was an acceleration from the quarterly declines of 0.3% and 0.1% seen in the fourth quarter of 2012, respectively.Research Analyst Joshua Mahony from Alpari said that the ability for markets to stabilise following recent volatility depends upon traders' future expectations."Where traders see a shift away from 'secure' expectations of growth driven by unlimited QE, towards one in which the future is less certain, it was always likely to bring about a negative response from the markets. Until the markets return the a scenario where expectations are more certain and stable, the current volatility is likely to become a continued characteristic of markets."Mining and property stocks performing wellCorporate news was thin on the ground this morning though mining and property stocks were performing well. Antofagasta, Rio Tinto and EVRAZ among the high risers on the FTSE 100. Newly merged resources conglomerate Glencore Xstrata also rose after saying that it has signed revolving credit facility worth $17.34bn to support general corporate activity. Shares gained strongly from the off.Real estate giants Land Securities, British Land and Hammerson were also among the best performers in morning trade.RBS was extending losses as markets continue to digest the surprise departure of Chief Executive Officer Stephen Hester, as well as the bank's announcement yesterday to cut 2,000 further investment-banking jobs. Among the rumoured potential successors for Hester's position is Lloyds Deputy Chairman Philip Hampton. A downgrade from Deutsche Bank to 'sell' was weighing further on RBS today.In contrast, power systems firm Rolls-Royce was making gains after Investec upgraded the stock from 'add' to 'buy', saying that the group's profitability is on an "upwards trajectory". IP Group, the AIM-listed developer of intellectual property-based businesses, fell after saying that its Chief Operating Officer is to step down from the board at the end of the month for health reasons.Africa-focused budget airline Fastjet rose strongly after winning the right to fly its first-ever international routes across the continent. The company has been given government permission to begin flying from Tanzania to South Africa, Zambia and Rwanda.FTSE 100 - RisersPetrofac Ltd. (PFC) 1,343.00p +3.55%Antofagasta (ANTO) 915.00p +2.58%Glencore Xstrata (GLEN) 312.60p +2.12%British Land Co (BLND) 595.50p +2.06%Rio Tinto (RIO) 2,814.00p +1.98%Hammerson (HMSO) 504.50p +1.61%InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 1,830.00p +1.61%Vedanta Resources (VED) 1,204.00p +1.60%Land Securities Group (LAND) 902.50p +1.58%BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,821.00p +1.56%FTSE 100 - FallersBunzl (BNZL) 1,241.00p -1.43%HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 680.80p -1.39%Next (NXT) 4,532.00p -1.22%Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 4,534.00p -1.22%Smith & Nephew (SN.) 747.50p -1.19%Severn Trent (SVT) 1,764.00p -1.18%BG Group (BG.) 1,179.00p -1.17%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 311.40p -1.14%British American Tobacco (BATS) 3,444.50p -1.11%Admiral Group (ADM) 1,302.00p -1.06%FTSE 250 - RisersImagination Technologies Group (IMG) 308.70p +5.97%Afren (AFR) 125.30p +5.29%Unite Group (UTG) 352.60p +5.22%Great Portland Estates (GPOR) 549.00p +4.08%Ferrexpo (FXPO) 152.30p +4.03%St. Modwen Properties (SMP) 284.30p +3.95%888 Holdings (888) 147.10p +3.88%New World Resources A Shares (NWR) 89.80p +3.81%Home Retail Group (HOME) 135.90p +3.66%African Barrick Gold (ABG) 132.40p +3.52%FTSE 250 - FallersOcado Group (OCDO) 315.00p -2.36%Senior (SNR) 252.60p -2.09%Pennon Group (PNN) 662.50p -1.12%Essar Energy (ESSR) 127.70p -1.01%Vesuvius (VSVS) 373.20p -0.88%Bwin.party Digital Entertainment (BPTY) 116.50p -0.77%Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC) 39.82p -0.70%International Personal Finance (IPF) 487.40p -0.69%Petra Diamonds Ltd.(DI) (PDL) 119.00p -0.58%Law Debenture Corp. (LWDB) 486.50p -0.51%