London midday: Footsie extends gains, banks jump

A strong performance by the banks and the miners lifted the FTSE 100 into positive territory by lunchtime, despite a fall early on, as markets digest last night's developments from the EU summit. Bourses across the Eurozone were all in the blue ahead of the conclusion of the meeting this afternoon.EU SUMMIT IN FOCUSReports surfaced late Thursday evening about the 10-hour deliberations in Brussels. Leaders from 23 out of the 27 EU member states reached an agreement on enhancing fiscal discipline and strengthening economic policy coordination in the Eurozone, accelerating the entry into force of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) and the commitment by member states to provide additional resources to the IMF of up to €200bn. However, Britain blocked an agreement that would apply to all members of the EU because it could not win concessions protecting the revenues of the City of London. David Cameron faced huge political pressure from his own Conservative Party not to agree treaty change without either a referendum or regaining powers for the UK Parliament. "Although an agreement has started, it is still unclear how these new fiscal rules will be enforced without the backing of all 27 member states," said trader Simon Furlong from Spreadex. "So it seems we find ourselves in a very familiar situation regarding the EU, one of uncertainty. Everyone's attention today will be on developments coming out of Brussels as leaders battle on towards an agreement," he said. BANKS SURGE AFTER SUMMITThe banks roared higher in London. Lloyds, RBS and Barclays took the top spots, rising around 6% each.Meanwhile, there are rumours that Lloyds boss Antonio Horta-Osorio may have reapply for his own job after going on stress-induced medical leave last month. Reports say the board of the bank will meet next Thursday to discuss his return and the establish whether or not he can change his micro-management style, which has been blamed for his health problems.Mining peers Fresnillo, ENRC, Kazakhmys, Xstrata and Antofagasta were also making gains. Meanwhile, automotive and aerospace engineer GKN was recovering after a steep fall yesterday on the back of a downgrade by Credit Suisse. Oil and gas giant BG Group was rising early on as market chatter speculated that it may be putting a stake in its Brazilian business up for sale. The sale could be worth up to $20bn.African Barrick Gold fell after saying it will miss its annual production target of 700,000 ounces due to the power disruptions that have plagued output at its Buzwagi mine in Tanzania throughout 2011. Investec cut its target price for the stock from 643p to 621p and reiterated a hold rating.House-builder Bellway said it has continued to deliver its strategy of increasing volumes, raising average selling prices through changes in mix and achieving margin growth during the period from 1 August to 30 November 2011. Shares rose 4%.WorkPlace Systems, the AIM-listed workforce management software and consulting services firm, soared 75% after announcing it is to be acquired by Wasp Management Software (NewCo) for 25p per share, an 81.8% premium to yesterday's closing price. ECONOMIC NEWSMeanwhile, the UK trade deficit narrowed sharply in October, as the goods sector helped drive the value of exports to new highs. The UK's trade in goods and services was £1.6bn in deficit in October compared with a deficit of £4.3bn in September, according to the Office for National Statistics. The price of goods leaving UK factories eased in November, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics. The output price index for home sales of manufactured products rose 5.4% in November, compared with a rise of 5.7% last month. Elsewhere, China's rate of inflation fell to its slowest pace in 14-months in November. The country's National Bureau of Statistics said consumer prices rose at 4.2% compared with the same month last year.BCFTSE 100 - RisersLloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 26.64p +6.22%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 22.18p +6.02%Barclays (BARC) 190.45p +5.57%Fresnillo (FRES) 1,778.00p +2.83%Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 683.00p +2.55%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 941.50p +2.39%Cairn Energy (CNE) 281.70p +2.25%GKN (GKN) 187.50p +2.24%Xstrata (XTA) 1,011.00p +2.12%Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,217.00p +2.10%FTSE 100 - FallersSABMiller (SAB) 2,164.50p -1.61%Bunzl (BNZL) 834.00p -1.24%Shire Plc (SHP) 2,126.00p -1.07%GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,425.00p -1.04%Diageo (DGE) 1,359.50p -0.84%Tate & Lyle (TATE) 680.50p -0.80%British American Tobacco (BATS) 2,991.50p -0.78%National Grid (NG.) 605.50p -0.74%Carnival (CCL) 2,187.00p -0.73%Imperial Tobacco Group (IMT) 2,353.00p -0.68%FTSE 250 - RisersPerform Group (PER) 221.60p +5.52%Cable & Wireless Worldwide (CW.) 17.58p +4.77%Bellway (BWY) 761.00p +4.46%Redrow (RDW) 115.60p +3.96%Premier Foods (PFD) 5.95p +3.75%Sports Direct International (SPD) 216.70p +3.68%Bwin.party Digital Entertainment (BPTY) 141.50p +3.21%Talvivaara Mining Company (TALV) 246.30p +3.14%Daejan Holdings (DJAN) 2,733.00p +3.13%Filtrona PLC (FLTR) 390.80p +3.09%FTSE 250 - FallersInternational Personal Finance (IPF) 205.80p -5.12%African Barrick Gold (ABG) 500.00p -3.85%Hays (HAS) 61.00p -3.79%JPMorgan Russian Securities (JRS) 497.70p -2.51%Ocado Group (OCDO) 85.80p -2.50%AZ Electronic Materials SA (WI) (AZEM) 235.50p -2.48%Ashtead Group (AHT) 206.50p -2.46%Supergroup (SGP) 505.00p -2.32%Allied Gold Mining (ALD) 173.00p -2.20%Domino Printing Sciences (DNO) 515.00p -2.18%