SSE Share News (SSE)

- Stocks surge on Chinese data- JPMorgan reports profit despite big trading loss- Moody's downgrades Italian credit ratingBetter-than-expected growth data from China and well-taken quarterly results from JPMorgan Chase & Co sent global stock markets soaring on Friday, as investors shrugged off a downgrade of Italy's sovereign debt rating.Chinese gross domestic product (GDP) growth was 1.8% in the second quarter, according to the latest data published by the Chinese statistics bureau, slightly ahead of the consensus estimate of 1.7%. Compared with the same period last year, growth expanded by 7.6%, in line with forecasts. "A growth figure of this size still breeds hope that the world's second largest economy can lead the global recovery," said analyst Craig Erlam from Alpari. "The figure also gives hope that further monetary easing will be considered by the government. The slowdown has been very real in the Chinese economy and recent measures taken by the government appear to have done very little to change this."US markets opened strongly today despite some worse-than-expected economic data as JPMorgan Chase revealed a modest 9% decline in second-quarter profit despite a whopping $4.4bn trading loss. The investment bank still managed to generate $4.96bn in net income in the period.Moody's downgraded Italy's sovereign debt rating by two notches to 'Baa2' from A3' citing upside risk to funding costs but that didn't stop the Treasury selling €5.25bn of medium- and long-term debt today, the top of its target range. FTSE 100: Miners surge on demand outlookMining peers Polymetal, Kazakhmys, ENRC, Vedanta and Randgold finished the day with impressive gains as fears over a 'hard-landing' eased. British luxury brand Burberry, a stock sensitive to the swings in the Chinese economy, a key growth market for the business, was also in demand. Financial data group Experian was a heavy faller despite group revenue in the three months to the end of June (first quarter) increasing by 14% on a constant currency basis. Energy and gas provider SSE was one of the worst performers after Citigroup downgraded its rating on the stock to 'sell', while sector peer United Utilities was flat after Barclays Capital cut its recommendation to 'underweight'.Security firm G4S extended yesterday's losses on the news that it had encountered delays in training security staff for the Olympics, meaning that the army has had to step in to provide extra troops. According to Home Secretary Theresa May last night, G4S faces penalties for breaching its contract. Satellite broadcaster ITV rose strongly on the back of positive read-across from the £3.16bn takeover of media and digital communications group Aegis announced yesterday with analysts speculating at increased M&A activity in the media sector.FTSE 250: Electrocomponents and Britvic lead the riseElectronics and maintenance products distributor Electrocomponents was higher after saying that sales in the three months to the end of June were at a similar level to the previous financial year. Soft drinks group Britvic was pulling back after yesterday's sell-off. The group said on Thursday that a product recall could cost it £15-25m, up from earlier guidance of just £1-5m. Added to this, poor weather conditions and weak consumer sentiment means the group now expects to deliver a full year results at the bottom end of market expectations. The Questor column in The Telegraph said this morning that the sharp decline now represents a buying opportunity.Second-tier miners were also performing well on the back of the Chinese data: Petropavlovsk, Avocet and Ferrexpo all finished at least 5% higher.FTSE 100 - RisersPolymetal International (POLY) 877.00p +6.82%Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,229.00p +6.13%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 744.00p +6.06%Evraz (EVR) 254.70p +4.56%Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 408.80p +3.86%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 5,925.00p +3.77%ITV (ITV) 74.95p +3.74%BT Group (BT.A) 222.30p +3.54%Vedanta Resources (VED) 914.50p +3.51%Ashmore Group (ASHM) 318.60p +3.51%FTSE 100 - FallersExperian (EXPN) 932.00p -2.00%G4S (GFS) 278.70p -1.52%SSE (SSE) 1,408.00p -0.85%Barclays (BARC) 162.15p -0.83%Carnival (CCL) 2,121.00p -0.42%Tesco (TSCO) 313.75p -0.40%Wolseley (WOS) 2,333.00p -0.30%CRH (CRH) 1,191.00p -0.17%InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 1,502.00p -0.07%FTSE 250 - RisersPetropavlovsk (POG) 461.60p +8.61%Avocet Mining (AVM) 69.75p +7.56%Electrocomponents (ECM) 212.50p +6.41%Ferrexpo (FXPO) 210.40p +5.36%Man Group (EMG) 68.05p +5.10%Ashtead Group (AHT) 262.80p +4.78%Britvic (BVIC) 273.10p +4.76%Howden Joinery Group (HWDN) 129.80p +4.68%Melrose (MRO) 395.70p +4.41%International Personal Finance (IPF) 247.60p +4.30%FTSE 250 - FallersBooker Group (BOK) 88.95p -2.57%New World Resources A Shares (NWR) 314.60p -2.24%CSR (CSR) 218.40p -2.06%Renishaw (RSW) 1,265.00p -1.94%Talvivaara Mining Company (TALV) 134.90p -1.68%Regus (RGU) 82.65p -1.61%Rathbone Brothers (RAT) 1,347.00p -1.54%Stobart Group Ltd. (STOB) 117.20p -1.51%Dechra Pharmaceuticals (DPH) 492.50p -1.50%Bwin.party Digital Entertainment (BPTY) 105.50p -1.49%BC