London close: Shares end near session high

London's top stocks closed near its session high on news that the US economy grew faster than expected in the third quarter.Traders loved news that the US economy grew 3.5% annually in the last quarter, more than expected and the fastest rate of increase in two years.Part-nationalised bank Lloyds Banking has confirmed it is contemplating digging an escape tunnel from the government's asset protection scheme.Lloyds said it is in advanced discussions with UK authorities regarding alternatives to entering the state insurance scheme for toxic debt. The lender is considering raising cash via an underwritten rights issue and debt swap. The shares have advanced strongly on the news, dragging fellow part-nationalised lender Royal Bank of Scotland with them, while Barclays was also wanted.Asia-focused bank Standard Chartered also cheered after it said its markets in Asia, Africa and the Middle East are pulling out of the recession quicker than many markets in the West. The group, which notched up record income and profits in the first half of the year, said it continued to make 'good progress' in the third quarter.Royal Dutch Shell remained in the doghouse. In a week in which long time rival BP topped market expectations with its third quarter results, the Anglo-Dutch oil giant's third quarter earnings (on a current cost of supplies (CCS) basis) of $3bn, down from $10.9bn a year ago, failed to enthuse the market.The figures were broadly in line with expectations but upstream earnings disappointed. BG Group, which announced third quarter results yesterday, joins Shell on the slide, as does sector peer Cairn Energy. Production at Cairn's Indian operations continued to rise in the third quarter while the average realised price per barrel of oil equivalent was $51.48.AstraZeneca's third quarter earnings beat market forecasts with a 27% hike in profit at constant exchange rates (CER), prompting the Anglo-Swedish drug giant to lift full-year targets. But the excitement soon petered out and the shares fell.Life assurance group Standard Life saw strong growth in assets in the third quarter as the markets continued their recovery. Assets under management rose by £15.3bn in the third quarter to £136.9bn. Third party assets under management jumped to a record £54.1bn from £47.3bn at the end of June.Elsewhere in the sector, Prudential was better after some positive comment in the papers following yesterday's results. Sales fell 9% during the third quarter. Aviva and Legal & General are also higher.Shares in Kazakhmys recovered from a poor start. The Kazakh miner said it is on track to hit full year targets, even though maintenance work could hit Q4 output. Higher metal prices also had Xstrata, Fresnillo, Anglo American and Antofagasta ahead.Among the mid-caps, CSR posted a fall in profits but said it was seeing strong levels of business now. A change at the top at defence technology firm Qinetiq had been warmly received by the City. Graham Love is being replaced as chief executive officer at Qinetiq by the former chief of banknote printer De La Rue, Leo Quinn.Cash-strapped Yellow Pages directory publisher Yell Group has again extended the deadline for its refinancing. The company, which is looking to restructure £3.8bn of debt, extended the deadline for the third time this week after last night's cut-off passed without success.National Express fell back after calling off talks with suitor Stagecoach. It will now focus on completing an equity fundraising by the end of this year. Stagecoach said it was disappointed.Fellow rail and bus group Arriva said it has continued to trade in line with expectations since August 27 with strong growth in bus operations and a continued good performance from trains.Elsewhere in the sector, Go Ahead said it had seen growth slightly ahead of expectations in its bus and aviation operations over the first quarter and that rail operations were continuing to trade in line with forecasts.The ascent of Evolution continued, after the investment management firm said it expects to beat full year profit forecasts. Sector peer Henderson Group was cold shouldered, however, despite assets under management increasing by 9% to £57.7bn in the third quarter.FTSE 100 - RisersRoyal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 43.37p +9.52%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 86.00p +7.50%Xstrata (XTA) 947.00p +7.37%Fresnillo (FRES) 802.00p +6.65%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 1,186.00p +6.56%Anglo American (AAL) 2,300.00p +5.60%SEGRO (SGRO) 363.30p +5.40%Prudential (PRU) 577.50p +4.90%Vedanta Resources (VED) 2,218.00p +4.57%Eurasian Natural Resources (ENRC) 889.00p +4.47%FTSE 100 - FallersRoyal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 1,813.00p -3.02%Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 1,856.00p -2.88%AstraZeneca (AZN) 2,752.00p -1.33%BAE Systems (BA.) 315.20p -1.22%British American Tobacco (BATS) 1,939.00p -0.92%Shire Plc (SHP) 1,024.00p -0.68%Smith & Nephew (SN.) 543.00p -0.55%Severn Trent (SVT) 954.50p -0.52%Alliance Trust (ATST) 308.60p -0.48%Rentokil Initial (RTO) 105.10p -0.47%