London close: Stocks gain with central banks in the spotlight

- Gains trimmed after Bernanke comments- China surprises with rate cut- BoE maintains rates and QEThe FTSE 100 made impressive gains on Thursday with all eyes on the central banks, though comments from Ben Bernanke knocked the blue-chip index off its intraday high in afternoon trade.The Bank of England (BoE) revealed at noon that it had maintained its Bank Rate at 0.5% and its asset purchase programme at £325bn, as was widely expected. Dr. Howard Archer from IHS Global Insight, reckons the decision to stand pat on QE may well have been a very close call: "There certainly is real pressure on the MPC [Monetary Policy Committee] to revive QE - and sooner rather than later," he said.Nevertheless, the decision was overshadowed by the surprise announcement by the People's Bank of China which revealed its first reduction in its key policy rate since 2008, sending equities - particularly mining stocks - soaring after midday. Furthermore, the bond yields on offer rose at Spain's latest debt auction of two-, four- and 10-year notes, but demand was stronger this time around with bid-to-cover ratios increasing for each security, giving a boost to sentiment early on.However, gains were pared late on after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said that "the situation in Europe poses significant risks to the US financial system and economy and must be monitored closely." Speaking to the Joint Economics Committee he said: "as always, the Federal Reserve remains prepared to take action as needed to protect the US financial system and economy in the event that financial stresses escalate." "As in the UK and the Eurozone, this idea [of further easing measures] was dismissed, temporarily at least with Mr Bernanke raising questions on the impact further injections could have on the economy. While his comments did cause a small drop in share prices, equities are continuing to perform well," said analyst Craig Erlam from Alpari this afternoon.FTSE 100: Financials and miners lead the riseBanking stocks were among the best performers of the day by the close with Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds and Barclays making decent gains. Miners were also getting in on the act, erasing earlier losses after the surprise rate cut in China fuelled hopes for the Chinese economy. Rio Tinto, Glencore and Xstrata all finished higher. It was revealed todady that Glencore boss Ivan Glasenberg purchased 2.9m shares in the mining giant using part of the money he received from the firm's latest dividend payout.Luxury brand Burberry was also a high riser after Credit Suisse upgraded the stock from neutral to outperform and lifted its target price from 1,420p to 1,650p. "Our most recent proprietary survey with buyers and merchandise planners from 20 high-end department stores around the world suggest sustained top line outperformance for Burberry," the broker said in a research note.Platinum refiner Johnson Matthey jumped after hailing another year of strong growth as it delivered numbers ahead of market expectations and a special divi worth a quid a share. Tullow Oil was higher after its Paon-1X exploration well offshore Côte d'Ivoire found good quality light oil in a Turonian fan system. Engineering giant GKN was also on the rise despite Citigroup maintaining its neutral rating and 170p target price for the stock this morning. FTSE 250: Betfair on the up Online betting exchange Betfair rose after confirming it has received an online gaming licence from the Spanish government. The move had been anticipated since the end of May but the decision sees the final stage of a process begun in the Spring of last year, when Spain's new gambling legislation was first introduced. Sector peers bwin.party and Ladbrokes, who announced they had won licences on June 1st, rose in sympathy. Gold miner African Barrick Gold (ABG) retreated after yesterday's near-15% jump. Its parent company Barrick Gold announced on Wednesday afternoon that President and CEO Aaron Regent has been replaced with the group citing disappointment over its recent share price performance. Regent has now left ABG as Chairman. FTSE 100 - RisersRoyal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 224.40p +5.25%Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,392.00p +5.14%Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 2,304.00p +4.87%Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,015.00p +3.98%Glencore International (GLEN) 361.20p +3.87%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 28.00p +3.53%Legal & General Group (LGEN) 115.70p +3.40%GKN (GKN) 183.50p +3.21%Xstrata (XTA) 966.80p +3.00%BG Group (BG.) 1,278.00p +2.98%FTSE 100 - FallersRandgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 5,645.00p -5.60%Fresnillo (FRES) 1,442.00p -2.04%Shire Plc (SHP) 1,851.00p -1.49%Severn Trent (SVT) 1,735.00p -1.48%Weir Group (WEIR) 1,464.00p -1.41%United Utilities Group (UU.) 668.50p -1.40%SABMiller (SAB) 2,420.50p -1.14%Hammerson (HMSO) 420.00p -0.87%Man Group (EMG) 80.25p -0.74%SSE (SSE) 1,329.00p -0.67%FTSE 250 - RisersAshtead Group (AHT) 242.20p +8.61%Kesa Electricals (KESA) 54.10p +8.50%Imagination Technologies Group (IMG) 509.00p +6.87%Lamprell (LAM) 108.70p +6.57%Hays (HAS) 75.05p +6.30%Persimmon (PSN) 586.50p +6.06%Barratt Developments (BDEV) 127.80p +5.97%Salamander Energy (SMDR) 171.70p +5.92%Anglo Pacific Group (APF) 252.70p +5.56%Heritage Oil (HOIL) 127.30p +5.56%FTSE 250 - FallersCranswick (CWK) 798.50p -5.00%Essar Energy (ESSR) 124.30p -4.46%Daejan Holdings (DJAN) 2,647.00p -2.97%Dignity (DTY) 845.00p -2.65%Domino's Pizza Group (DOM) 482.00p -2.03%Great Portland Estates (GPOR) 377.00p -1.67%Spirit Pub Company (SPRT) 49.00p -1.51%Drax Group (DRX) 540.50p -1.46%ITE Group (ITE) 182.60p -1.14%Dairy Crest Group (DCG) 321.10p -1.14%BC