London midday: Miners gain after upbeat Chinese data

- Stocks gains despite Eurozone gloom- Chinese manufacturing figures lift sentiment- Trade expected to be light with US closedDecent manufacturing figures from China ensured that the FTSE 100 was making gains on Thursday with the heavyweight mining sector bolstering the benchmark index.However, trade volumes are said to be very light today with US markets closed for the Thanksgiving holiday. Wall Street will reopen Friday morning for a half-session.The 'flash' HSBC Chinese purchasing managers' index (PMI) for the month of October came in at 50.4, up from 49.5 for the previous month. That constitutes a thirteen month high. Financial sales trader Matthew Nelson from Spreadex said this morning: "News that manufacturing output had risen in China for the first time in more than a year helped to underpin sentiment in the East and the figures have also aided the prospects of UK metals and energy companies with the bulk of this morning's shift coming from the two sectors."However, data from the Eurozone was less cheery today, with the single-currency region heading for its weakest quarter since the height of the financial crisis in 2009, according to the latest figures from Markit. The Eurozone composite PMI was little-changed in November, up fractionally from 45.7 in October to 45.8.Meanwhile, French bank Societe Generale has forecast that Spain will stay in recession and not return to economic growth until 2015.FTSE 100: SABMiller delivers the goods in the first halfSABMiller, one of the world's largest brewers, managed to beat analysts' forecasts for revenue, earnings and margins in the first half as its hiked its interim dividend by 12%. Investors shrugged off the group's comments that it has seen a "moderation of growth" in some emerging markets. Mining stocks were also performing well this morning on the back of the Chinese manufacturing data: Vedanta, EVRAZ, ENRC, Glencore, Xstrata and Kazakhmys were among the highest risers early on.Following a sharp fall yesterday after its first-half figures, chemicals group Johnson Matthey rebounded after Credit Suisse upgraded the stock from 'neutral' to 'outperform' and lifted its target price from 2,300p to 2,400p. The broker said: "We think the short-term negatives have now been flagged and are in the share price. Mid-term, we forecast good growth, and believe the shares are at a reasonable price."Consumer goods giant Reckitt Benckiser was making gains after signing a definitive merger agreement with Schiff Nutrition International to buy the healthy snacks maker for $1.4bn.FTSE 250: Man Group provides a liftFund manager Man Group advanced this morning after the Financial Times reported that it has moved $1.5bn of its flagship fund AHL into a new portfolio in order to raise returns.Home emergency repairs group HomeServe was out of favour after Liberum Capital downgraded its rating on the shares to 'hold' and cut its target price from 260p to 250p.Defence group Cobham rose after its aviation division secured a multi-million dollar extension on a contract to fly miners to remote parts of Western Australia.Residential property owner-manager Grainger was higher despite cautioning that it expects subdued market conditions to persist through 2013. The company reported a 3.2% rise in net asset value per share in the year to September 30th.FTSE 100 - RisersSABMiller (SAB) 2,806.50p +6.59%Evraz (EVR) 234.60p +3.67%Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 2,245.00p +2.51%Kingfisher (KGF) 277.70p +2.10%Xstrata (XTA) 1,017.00p +2.01%Glencore International (GLEN) 340.80p +2.01%Vedanta Resources (VED) 1,078.00p +1.99%RSA Insurance Group (RSA) 113.10p +1.98%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 696.00p +1.90%Melrose (MRO) 213.40p +1.86%FTSE 100 - FallersFresnillo (FRES) 1,951.00p -0.81%Severn Trent (SVT) 1,558.00p -0.70%Vodafone Group (VOD) 158.05p -0.69%BT Group (BT.A) 222.70p -0.58%Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,434.00p -0.42%Old Mutual (OML) 168.80p -0.35%Babcock International Group (BAB) 973.00p -0.31%United Utilities Group (UU.) 669.50p -0.30%Pennon Group (PNN) 602.00p -0.25%Experian (EXPN) 1,018.00p -0.20%FTSE 250 - RisersMan Group (EMG) 76.90p +5.27%Dixons Retail (DXNS) 25.83p +3.32%Ferrexpo (FXPO) 213.70p +2.79%Soco International (SIA) 369.40p +2.27%Kier Group (KIE) 1,165.00p +2.19%Supergroup (SGP) 617.00p +2.15%BTG (BTG) 348.10p +2.02%Rightmove (RMV) 1,494.00p +1.91%Cobham (COB) 200.20p +1.88%EnQuest (ENQ) 114.30p +1.69%FTSE 250 - FallersNew World Resources A Shares (NWR) 220.00p -3.21%Centamin (DI) (CEY) 65.95p -2.73%Euromoney Institutional Investor (ERM) 770.50p -2.28%Talvivaara Mining Company (TALV) 101.50p -2.22%Intermediate Capital Group (ICP) 288.30p -2.11%TalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) 208.20p -1.65%Unite Group (UTG) 261.90p -1.54%Hochschild Mining (HOC) 485.00p -1.42%St. Modwen Properties (SMP) 207.10p -1.38%Investec (INVP) 378.40p -1.18%BC