Lloyds Share News (LLOY)

Markets looked set to end the week on a high note with financial stocks lifting the FTSE 100 higher in early trading on Friday, as sentiment was buoyed by record highs on Wall Street last night.Both the Dow Jones and S&P 500 indices closed at their highest ever levels on Thursday, while the Nasdaq finished at a 13-year high, as markets reacted to dovish comments made by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke the night before.Speaking after the latest Fed meeting minutes were released, the Fed chief looked to reassure markets that short-term interest rates wouldn't be rising anytime soon, even if the unemployment rate falls dramatically. He said that the US economy needed continued monetary stimulus until the labour market shows stronger signs of improvement.Bernanke said back in June that 'tapering' stimulus would be like "easing up on the gas pedal as the car begins to pick up speed, not applying the brakes"."Mr Bernanke's response, at his speech on Wednesday, appears to have been the equivalent of a quick pump of the accelerator, pushing the said car back up to cruising speed and in the process we've seen US markets close at their highest ever closing levels, and just shy of their previous all-time highs, as US markets continue to outperform their European and global peers," said Senior Market Analyst Michael Hewson from CMC Markets.One cause for concern this morning were comments made by Chinese Finance Minister Lou Jiwei who warned that world's second-largest economy would miss its growth target this year. Chinese state agency Xinhua quoted Lou as saying that growth would likely average 7% in 2013, below the government's 7.5% target. China grew 7.7% in the first quarter. FTSE 100: Financials provide a liftFinancial stocks were performing well early on with Aberdeen Asset Management, Prudential and Resolution giving the FTSE 100 a boost. Banking peers Standard Chartered, RBS and Lloyds were also higher, though Barclays was bucking the trend after Numis downgraded the stock to 'reduce'.Mining stocks were among the worst performers this morning, pulling back after an impressive rise yesterday as metals prices jumped. Chinese slowdown worries were hitting the sector today, with Fresnillo, Randgold, Rio Tinto, Antofagasta, Glencore Xstrata and Anglo American registering moderate losses early on.Experian was lower despite saying it expected strong revenue growth this year after sales outpaced economic expansion in its main markets in the first quarter.Investors also gave a cool reaction to a statement by Centrica as the British Gas owner sealed a cash deal to buy Bounce Energy, a Texas-based electricity retailer with an innovative digital strategy.G4S and Serco were extending losses made yesterday after it was reported that both companies were being investigated by the Serious Fraud Office on suspicion of overcharging on government contracts.FTSE 250: Invensys rockets on takeover proposalEngineering firm Invensys jumped early on after confirming it had received a cash and paper takeover approach from France's Schneider Electric that valued the company at £3.3bn and said it would likely recommend a formal offer at this price.Phoenix Group was also making headlines on M&A activity after reporting that it is in talks with Swiss Re about combining their businesses. The deal would bring Phoenix together with the Swiss insurance giant's Admin Re business and would see Swiss Re take a minority stake in Phoenix. Oxford Instruments, which provides technology for research, was also a high riser after saying that orders, sales and profits improved towards the end of the first quarter, following a slow a start to the year.FTSE 100 - RisersResolution Ltd. (RSL) 314.50p +2.11%Aberdeen Asset Management (ADN) 414.60p +1.77%GKN (GKN) 331.20p +1.38%Prudential (PRU) 1,124.00p +1.26%Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 283.80p +1.18%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 307.60p +1.18%Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,395.00p +1.16%AstraZeneca (AZN) 3,286.00p +1.11%Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,533.00p +1.09%Shire Plc (SHP) 2,244.00p +1.08%FTSE 100 - FallersFresnillo (FRES) 983.50p -3.39%Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 4,793.00p -2.76%Serco Group (SRP) 612.50p -2.23%Glencore Xstrata (GLEN) 260.90p -2.03%Anglo American (AAL) 1,312.50p -1.83%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 4,322.00p -1.82%Antofagasta (ANTO) 838.50p -1.76%Rio Tinto (RIO) 2,788.50p -1.59%G4S (GFS) 209.90p -1.46%Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 207.10p -1.33%FTSE 250 - RisersInvensys (ISYS) 504.00p +14.52%Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 1,407.00p +12.56%Phoenix Group Holdings (DI) (PHNX) 673.50p +3.14%Spectris (SXS) 2,013.00p +1.92%Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 404.00p +1.89%St James's Place (STJ) 589.50p +1.46%Temple Bar Inv Trust (TMPL) 1,205.00p +1.35%United Drug (UDG) 331.10p +1.25%Keller Group (KLR) 1,083.00p +1.22%Evraz (EVR) 95.45p +1.22%FTSE 250 - FallersFerrexpo (FXPO) 149.20p -4.97%African Barrick Gold (ABG) 105.80p -4.68%Hochschild Mining (HOC) 150.80p -2.46%Crest Nicholson Holdings (CRST) 349.50p -2.21%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 251.70p -2.18%Polymetal International (POLY) 508.00p -2.12%Bwin.party Digital Entertainment (BPTY) 125.20p -2.03%Menzies(John) (MNZS) 723.00p -1.90%PayPoint (PAY) 1,070.00p -1.65%Alent (ALNT) 366.20p -1.56%BC