London close: US data, stimulus hopes drive gains

- US factory data beats forecasts- Stimulus hopes drive gains for equity markets - Barclays choppy after CEO, COO departuresFollowing a tentative start, the FTSE 100 surged in afternoon trade on the back of some strong factory-order data in the US. Hopes that central banks from across the globe will ease monetary policy were also driving gains for equity markets.US factory orders increased by 0.7% in May, according to the Commerce Department, better than the 0.1% increase expected. The figures saw US benchmarks jump in morning trade on Wall Street.Shavaz Dhalla, a trader from Spreadex, said: "Global markets were optimistic during today's afternoon trading session as traders had one eye on major central banks and whether they will take further action to support a faltering global economy and the other eye on an early finish to US trading today as well as a US bank holiday tomorrow owing to their Independence Day."Yesterday's disappointing manufacturing data in the US has prompted calls for the Federal Reserve to begin fresh stimulus into the world's largest economy. According to BNP Paribas, weak employment figures later this week may add to pressure on the Fed. Meanwhile, there are also calls for China to cut its reserve requirement ratio (RRR) for its banks in an effort to boost liquidity. Investors were also looking ahead to policy decisions by the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Bank of England (BoE) on Thursday. The ECB is widely expected to cut interest rates to a new record-low, while the BoE is predicted to ramp up its asset purchase programme. FTSE 100: Barclays volatile after boardroom shake-upShares in Barclays jumped in early trading on the news that Bob Diamond has resigned after the bank was involved in LIBOR manipulation. Marcus Agius, who said yesterday that he would resign as Chairman, is to become a full-time Chairman while the board searches for a new CEO. However, gains were quickly pared in afternoon trade after it emerged that Chief Executive Officer Jerry del Missier has now quit.Sector peer RBS, which was reported yesterday to have sacked numerous traders over alleged LIBOR-fixing during the last year, was also out of favour. Prime Minister David Cameron announced yesterday that there would be a parliamentary inquiry into the matter and that the Serious Fraud Office is looking at whether criminal prosecutions are needed. Oilfield services (OFS) group AMEC was a high riser after Nomura named it as its top pick in the European OFS sector. The broker hosted the Global OFS Conference in London last week and said that "we came away incrementally more positive on the outlook for engineering-based companies well placed to benefit from global tightness in highly qualified project managers." Sector peers Petrofac was also higher after Liberum Capital upgraded its rating on the stock to 'buy'.Fund manager Aberdeen Asset Management was a heavy faller today after Credit Suisse offloaded a 7% interest in the group by selling 80.4m shares.FTSE 250: Talvivaara and Avocet sold offResource group Talvivaara was bucking the trend after saying that it is unlikely to hit its nickel production targets this year as a result of flooding, scheduled maintenance and a fatality-related stoppage during its second quarter. Shares were 14% lower by midday. Sector peer Avocet fell after Nomura slashed its target price on the stock by 45% following the recent production downgrade and news of a delayed project expansion. Meanwhile, mining groups Aquarius Platinum, African Barrick Gold and Centamin were among the best performers of the day on the second-tier index.Soft drinks firm Britvic fell sharply after saying that it is recalling all of its Robinsons Fruit Shoot and Fruit Shoot Hydro packs, which feature a new design cap, due to a potential packaging safety issue, resulting in a reduction to profits.Hedge fund manager Man Group was hit with a downgrade by Credit Suisse from 'outperform' to 'neutral', with the broker estimating that assets under management have fallen by 12% in the second quarter owing to a "tough" market environment. FTSE 100 - RisersVedanta Resources (VED) 961.00p +6.07%Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,139.00p +3.83%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 757.00p +3.70%Evraz (EVR) 267.70p +3.56%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 5,985.00p +3.19%Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,157.00p +3.15%Weir Group (WEIR) 1,612.00p +3.13%Amec (AMEC) 1,054.00p +2.73%Tullow Oil (TLW) 1,531.00p +2.55%Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 2,263.00p +2.54%FTSE 100 - FallersAberdeen Asset Management (ADN) 255.00p -3.66%Kingfisher (KGF) 281.80p -2.49%ITV (ITV) 76.35p -1.86%ICAP (IAP) 334.80p -1.47%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 216.50p -1.14%Pennon Group (PNN) 761.00p -0.98%United Utilities Group (UU.) 673.50p -0.88%Ashmore Group (ASHM) 350.40p -0.82%Barclays (BARC) 167.05p -0.80%BT Group (BT.A) 213.90p -0.65%FTSE 250 - RisersAquarius Platinum Ltd. (AQP) 51.00p +5.99%African Barrick Gold (ABG) 415.50p +5.67%Soco International (SIA) 325.80p +5.30%Centamin (DI) (CEY) 74.30p +4.94%Anite (AIE) 130.80p +4.64%Brown (N.) Group (BWNG) 259.00p +4.23%EnQuest (ENQ) 114.60p +4.09%Homeserve (HSV) 159.70p +3.97%Rentokil Initial (RTO) 77.00p +3.84%Investec (INVP) 394.70p +3.60%FTSE 250 - FallersTalvivaara Mining Company (TALV) 148.60p -12.59%Avocet Mining (AVM) 71.25p -7.59%Britvic (BVIC) 316.70p -5.32%Man Group (EMG) 70.85p -4.84%FirstGroup (FGP) 223.10p -4.45%Spirit Pub Company (SPRT) 48.00p -4.00%Essar Energy (ESSR) 122.10p -2.86%Salamander Energy (SMDR) 167.60p -2.33%Yule Catto & Co (YULC) 140.10p -2.30%Phoenix Group Holdings (DI) (PHNX) 475.90p -2.28%BC