London midday: Lloyds leads banking rally

The top share index is posting big gains now as banks recover and company updates get the thumbs up.Lloyds Banking leads banks higher after a bad day for the sector yesterday amid talk that ratings agency Moody's is set to downgrade the sector.Company updates are the main cause for excitement though. Coffee shop and hotel operator Whitbread is going well after it was able to accelerate revenue growth during the first half, posting a 12.9% improvement in sales in the second quarter, up from a 9.2% increase in the first three months of the year.Plant hire group Ashtead has jumped after it raised full-year guidance following a strong first quarter performance. Underlying revenue was up 12%, or 21% on a constant exchange rates (CER) basis in the three months to the end of July from a year earlier, while pre-tax profit was up 136% on a like-for-like basis. Reinforced polymer technology Fenner jumped after it revealed that numbers for the year ended 31 August are likely to be ahead of market expectations, due to strong growth in both the Conveyor Belting and Advanced Engineering Products divisions.Brewing and pubs group Greene King opened higher as it saw like-for-like (LFL) year-on-year sales growth in its retail business in the 18 weeks to 4 September, despite going up against tough comparatives that were boosted by last year's World Cup.Recycled packaging and office products provider DS Smith rose after it said trading since 30 April 2011 has been good after a strong contribution from its French acquisition Otor, a maker of corrugated packaging.There was no FIFA World Cup this year so online betting exchange Betfair was feeling reasonably pleased with a 7% decline in core revenues in the three months to the end of July, and even more chuffed with a pick-up in revenue in August. Investors were also happy, with shares rising by over 3.4%.Budget airline easyJet opened up lower despite a 6.5% like-for-like increase in passenger numbers in August. However, the load factor fell by 0.1 percentage point to 92.2%.Irish mining firm Kenmare Resources has achieved 'Technical Completion' at the Moma Titanium Minerals Mine in Mozambique, a major milestone towards releasing its loan guarantees for the project. Shares were higher.Own label goods maker McBride was in the red after it saw profits fall by a half in the year to end of June as rising costs and a tough retail environment took their toll.Aim listed Global Brands, which owns the Domino's Pizza franchise in Switzerland, Luxembourg and Liechtenstein, narrowed half year losses and said it was confident of positive sales growth for the remainder of the year. Pre-tax loss was reduced to 810,638 Swiss franc for the six months ended 30 June 2011 compared to 1.34m Swiss franc loss the previous year. Total revenue from sales, including corporate sales and the amounts paid to Global Brands by the sub-franchisees, rose 11% to 7.37m Swiss franc. FTSE 100 - RisersWhitbread (WTB) 1,544.00p +5.97%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 31.81p +3.78%BAE Systems (BA.) 265.00p +2.87%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 22.38p +2.75%Cairn Energy (CNE) 310.70p +2.51%3i Group (III) 202.60p +2.43%Glencore International (GLEN) 385.30p +2.35%Capital Shopping Centres Group (CSCG) 325.40p +2.20%Fresnillo (FRES) 2,029.00p +2.17%Resolution Ltd. (RSL) 259.00p +1.93%FTSE 100 - FallersARM Holdings (ARM) 526.00p -1.41%GKN (GKN) 179.10p -1.16%Kingfisher (KGF) 225.10p -0.84%G4S (GFS) 255.90p -0.81%Reed Elsevier (REL) 486.90p -0.45%Intertek Group (ITRK) 1,912.00p -0.42%Capita Group (CPI) 696.50p -0.29%Amec (AMEC) 858.50p -0.29%Smiths Group (SMIN) 932.50p -0.27%Lonmin (LMI) 1,204.00p -0.25%FTSE 250 - RisersAshtead Group (AHT) 132.80p +18.57%Betfair Group (BET) 670.50p +6.77%Soco International (SIA) 331.00p +6.71%Fenner (FENR) 351.80p +5.39%Kenmare Resources (KMR) 42.16p +5.27%Enterprise Inns (ETI) 36.51p +4.58%Yule Catto & Co (YULC) 173.00p +4.41%Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 40.00p +4.00%Home Retail Group (HOME) 118.70p +3.22%New World Resources A Shares (NWR) 564.00p +3.20%FTSE 250 - FallersAZ Electronic Materials SA (WI) (AZEM) 220.80p -3.58%Kesa Electricals (KESA) 98.50p -2.76%Exillon Energy (EXI) 234.80p -2.65%ITE Group (ITE) 173.70p -2.53%Senior (SNR) 143.30p -2.32%Lancashire Holdings (LRE) 645.50p -2.12%Rightmove (RMV) 1,227.00p -1.92%Henderson Group (HGG) 120.70p -1.79%Rotork (ROR) 1,631.00p -1.75%Halfords Group (HFD) 287.20p -1.68%