London close: Stocks close higher as ECB leaves door open to more QE

(ShareCast News) - London stocks closed higher after earlier declines as the European Central Bank's president fuelled hopes of further stimulus.Mario Draghi said the ECB will re-examine its quantitative easing programme in December and would consider extending €60bn monthly purchases past the planned 2016 September if needed.Draghi also revealed that the ECB had discussed furthering lowering the deposit rate, which sent the euro below $1.12 for the first time since early October.However, he said there was "no specific preference to one instrument or the other, they were all considered".The president noted that falling commodity prices and concerns about emerging markets meant inflation pressures remained negative."We have tasked relevant committees to work on different monetary policies to monitor pros and cons of different instruments," he told journalists at a press conference following the ECB's announcement that it would keep policy unchanged.As expected, the ECB decided to maintain interest rates, the deposit facility and the marginal lending facility unchanged at 0.05%, -0.20% and 0.30%, respectively."We believe the ECB could very well deliver on more Quantitative Easing in December," said Howard Archer, chief UK and European economist at IHS Global Insight.Economic dataUK retail sales rose 6.5% year-on-year in September, well above analysts' expectations of 4.7%, according to the Office for National Statistics. Sales were boosted by promotions around the Rugby World Cup."Following a feeble performance in previous months, the renewed vigour in the pace of UK retail spending in September might help to stop overall GDP growth slowing too much in Q3," according to Capital Economics.Figures from the European Commission showed consumer confidence fell more than expected in October. The report showed consumers in the 19-country bloc became less optimistic, as the index slid 0.6 points to -7.7. Analysts had expected a reading of -7.4.Stateside the National Association of Realtors revealed existing home sales climbed 4.7% month-on-month to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 5.55m, compared with consensus for a reading of 5.37m.The Department of Labor said US jobless claims rose by 3,000 to 259,000 in the week to 17 October, compared with analysts' expectations for a 265,000 reading.CompaniesVodafone jumped after French peer Orange lifted its 2015 earnings forecast and posted third-quarter revenue that beat analysts' expectations. Sales at the telecom company were up 4.9% from the same period a year ago to €10.3bn.Equipment rentals firm Ashtead got a boost from US peer United Rentals, which reported better-than-expected third-quarter results after the close on Wednesday.Shares in engineering firm GKN advanced after its revenue for the nine months to 30 September beat analysts' expectations, rising a touch to £5.68bn from £5.62bn.Travis Perkins slumped after the housebuilder warned that full-year EBITA will now be at the lower end of market expectations due to recent sector weakness.Pearson was on the back foot for the second day in a row as JPMorgan Cazenove downgraded the stock to 'neutral' from 'overweight' and slashed the price target to 1,080p from 1,365p following the company's interim management statement on Wednesday.Anglo American declined after saying it was postponing major project decisions at its platinum unit until at least 2017 and had cut diamond production due to soft demand.Foxtons dropped after saying transactions in central London remained at a low level following recent strong price growth and stamp duty changes.Debenhams gained after posting growth in annual pre-tax profit thanks to solid progress made against its strategic targets.Ladbrokes raced higher as the bookmaker's third-quarter results met forecasts . Market MoversFTSE 100 (UKX) 6,380.65 0.51%FTSE 250 (MCX) 17,035.30 -0.01%techMARK (TASX) 3,054.14 0.74%FTSE 100 - RisersGlencore (GLEN) 117.45p 6.24%Ashtead Group (AHT) 988.00p 4.00%Vodafone Group (VOD) 216.20p 3.92%GKN (GKN) 287.30p 3.38%Antofagasta (ANTO) 562.50p 3.12%Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,302.00p 2.76%Admiral Group (ADM) 1,649.00p 2.55%Standard Chartered (STAN) 739.30p 2.50%London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) 2,494.00p 2.34%Rio Tinto (RIO) 2,475.00p 2.02%FTSE 100 - FallersTravis Perkins (TPK) 1,851.00p -5.71%Pearson (PSON) 948.50p -5.01%Kingfisher (KGF) 352.00p -3.93%Smiths Group (SMIN) 985.50p -2.52%Wolseley (WOS) 3,733.00p -1.81%Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 670.00p -1.69%Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 2,017.00p -1.61%HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 506.00p -1.33%Anglo American (AAL) 596.60p -1.32%Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 1,804.00p -1.20%FTSE 250 - RisersZoopla Property Group (WI) (ZPLA) 255.00p 8.83%Ladbrokes (LAD) 109.70p 8.51%Evraz (EVR) 88.75p 7.12%Nostrum Oil & Gas (NOG) 475.40p 5.81%Kaz Minerals (KAZ) 124.10p 5.53%Sophos Group (SOPH) 262.60p 5.38%Drax Group (DRX) 282.80p 5.13%Debenhams (DEB) 84.10p 3.64%Inchcape (INCH) 789.00p 3.20%Riverstone Energy Limited (RSE) 870.00p 3.20%FTSE 250 - FallersSIG (SHI) 141.10p -20.95%Foxtons Group (FOXT) 204.60p -7.63%Senior (SNR) 241.50p -7.47%Howden Joinery Group (HWDN) 445.10p -5.32%Home Retail Group (HOME) 119.80p -4.92%Grafton Group Units (GFTU) 662.50p -4.06%Countrywide (CWD) 466.30p -4.03%Galliford Try (GFRD) 1,504.00p -3.71%Dignity (DTY) 2,230.00p -3.59%Hays (HAS) 136.50p -2.57%