London midday: Markets extend gains on US stimulus hopes

- Stimulus hopes continue to drive markets after Yellen comments- Eurozone CPI inflation in line with initial estimate- IAG raises profit forecast for 2015techMARK 2,653.33 +0.15%FTSE 100 6,692.14 +0.39%FTSE 250 15,283.74 +0.17%UK stocks were registering decent gains on Friday morning following yet another record close on Wall Street last night, as investors continue to react to a dovish stance from soon-to-be Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen.Yellen, who is due to take over from Ben Bernanke in January, said yesterday that the US economy is still performing "far short of [its] potential", sparking hopes that the central bank will continue with its quantitative easing programme for the time being. Both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 rose to all-time highs in New York on Thursday evening."The positive sentiment from the record highs in US indices last night has found its way into European trade this morning," said Brenda Kelly, Senior Market Strategist at IG. "The FTSE has pushed marginally higher on expectations that the Fed QE punchbowl contains enough servings for another few rounds," she said.The final revision of Eurozone inflation data for October was in focus this morning following last week's rate cut by the European Central Bank. As expected, consumer prices rose at an annual rate of 0.7%, in line with the initial estimate. Nevertheless, this was still a sharp unexpected drop from a rate of 1.1% the month before.Economic data Stateside will also be in focus today with the Empire State manufacturing index, import prices, industrial production and manufacturing output figures all due out this afternoon.IAG ups profit guidance, Vedanta dropsIAG was trading in the red but managed to erase some earlier losses after it lifted its profit guidance for 2015, helped by improving margins at British Airways and the ongoing recovery of Spanish airline Iberia. The firm is now targeting a €1.8bn operating profit in 2015, up 12.5% from its previous €1.6bn forecast. After a decent start, mining group Vedanta Resources dropped sharply lower as investors reacted to a 17% drop in first-half revenue to $6.2bn on the back of falling commodity prices. In contrast, other miners including Fresnillo, Antofagasta and Anglo American were among the best performers this morning. Oil stocks were also making gains with Shell and Petrofac heading higher by midday.Defence, security and transport products firm Ultra Electronics was a heavy faller after warning that revenue for 2013 would be slightly below the previous year's, hit by "a number of headwinds", in particular the US government-funded market.Others exposed to the defence sectors, including BAE Systems and Rolls-Royce were also trading lower this morning.Financial services group Hargreaves Lansdown gained after JPMorgan Cazenove initiated coverage of the stock with an 'overweight' rating, saying that the stock's seemingly expensive valuation - trading at a prospective price-to-earnings ratio of 31 - is "justified".FTSE 100 - RisersFresnillo (FRES) 938.00p +2.51%Mondi (MNDI) 1,016.00p +2.01%Antofagasta (ANTO) 818.50p +1.80%Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 2,179.50p +1.73%WPP (WPP) 1,365.00p +1.71%Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 2,086.50p +1.68%Anglo American (AAL) 1,434.00p +1.67%Pearson (PSON) 1,347.00p +1.66%Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,183.00p +1.63%TUI Travel (TT.) 387.10p +1.57%FTSE 100 - FallersVedanta Resources (VED) 955.00p -6.74%Centrica (CNA) 337.80p -2.17%CRH (CRH) 1,591.00p -1.61%International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 368.00p -1.34%Shire Plc (SHP) 2,809.00p -1.09%BAE Systems (BA.) 449.60p -1.01%Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 411.00p -0.87%Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,476.00p -0.87%Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 1,225.00p -0.81%National Grid (NG.) 775.50p -0.77%FTSE 250 - RisersGenus (GNS) 1,294.00p +3.69%African Barrick Gold (ABG) 200.80p +3.61%Imagination Technologies Group (IMG) 246.60p +3.27%Pace (PIC) 304.00p +3.05%Atkins (WS) (ATK) 1,317.00p +2.89%Electrocomponents (ECM) 302.50p +2.72%Renishaw (RSW) 1,853.00p +2.43%Telecity Group (TCY) 657.00p +2.34%Polymetal International (POLY) 570.00p +2.33%Serco Group (SRP) 428.40p +2.22%FTSE 250 - FallersUltra Electronics Holdings (ULE) 1,775.00p -6.38%Xaar (XAR) 981.00p -3.35%Perform Group (PER) 445.00p -3.26%Rotork (ROR) 2,808.00p -2.97%BTG (BTG) 440.00p -2.81%Essar Energy (ESSR) 105.40p -2.68%Dignity (DTY) 1,330.00p -2.56%Galliford Try (GFRD) 1,077.00p -2.18%Bwin.party Digital Entertainment (BPTY) 130.70p -2.10%Daejan Holdings (DJAN) 4,002.00p -1.96%BC