London midday: Pause for breath after euro boost

Shares are still flat amid a quiet day on the company news front, giving traders a chance to sit back and appraise the latest developments in the Eurozone saga.SUBDUED START AFTER YESTERDAY'S SURGEStock markets across the globe surged higher yesterday, with the three US benchmarks rising by an average 3% last night after leaders agreed on a crucial plan to deal with the ongoing sovereign debt crisis.The plans included a haircut of 50% on Greek debt, an increase to the size of the European Financial Stability Fund, and a 9% core capital threshold for European banks.Markets were also helped by news that US gross domestic product rose by an annual rate of 2.5% in the third quarter. While the expansion was in line with consensus estimates, the data confirmed that the growth rate had picked up from the 1.3% rise in the second quarter and the measly 0.4% increase in the first.BANKS UP, OIL STOCKS DOWNBanks continued to make gains after their strong showing on Thursday, bolstered by a more confident outlook in the Eurozone. RBS, Barclays, Lloyds and HSBC were among the highest risers.Chip designer ARM Holdings rose after yesterday confirming that its latest chip architecture will support 64-bit processing, which could expand its reach in the smartphone and tablet market.Hammerson, the FTSE 100 retail-focused real estate firm, was in demand after selling off a further interest in the O'Parinor shopping centre in France for €106m, following the disposal of a majority interest last year.Advertising firm WPP was higher after it said that revenue growth accelerated in the third quarter as strong growth in the emerging markets outweighed slowing growth in North America.Today's big mover though was Elementis. The speciality chemical additives firm said all three of its divisions traded ahead of last year's levels in the third quarter. The company remains confident that full year earnings, excluding exceptional items, will be in line with the board's expectations. Coolabi, the intellectual property company behind the cartoon character Bagpuss, jumps after saying it has agreed a 7.75p a share offer with North Promotions, a company funded by Coolabi's biggest shareholder Edge Performance Venture Capital Trust. Senior management at Coolabi are shareholders in North, which says it has identified a working capital requirement of £1m in Coolabi. FTSE 100 - RisersEssar Energy (ESSR) 323.80p +4.08%ITV (ITV) 66.20p +2.32%HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 567.80p +2.25%Smith & Nephew (SN.) 585.00p +1.92%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 6,990.00p +1.90%Intertek Group (ITRK) 2,056.00p +1.63%Associated British Foods (ABF) 1,119.00p +1.54%Ashmore Group (ASHM) 359.00p +1.47%Hammerson (HMSO) 410.90p +1.46%Schroders (SDR) 1,500.00p +1.35%FTSE 100 - FallersMan Group (EMG) 152.80p -5.03%International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (IAG) 175.30p -2.83%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 36.14p -2.51%Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 2,281.50p -2.08%Aviva (AV.) 367.90p -2.02%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 26.74p -1.94%Barclays (BARC) 205.95p -1.93%Admiral Group (ADM) 1,238.00p -1.82%Glencore International (GLEN) 435.95p -1.79%Vedanta Resources (VED) 1,386.00p -1.77%FTSE 250 - RisersElementis (ELM) 149.80p +6.92%Exillon Energy (EXI) 299.50p +5.46%New World Resources A Shares (NWR) 586.50p +4.55%Renishaw (RSW) 1,009.00p +3.49%Morgan Crucible Co (MGCR) 297.90p +3.29%Afren (AFR) 100.20p +3.09%ITE Group (ITE) 195.00p +2.96%Brewin Dolphin Holdings (BRW) 126.50p +2.93%RPS Group (RPS) 187.10p +2.86%Berendsen (BRSN) 463.80p +2.61%FTSE 250 - FallersDixons Retail (DXNS) 12.08p -4.13%Aquarius Platinum Ltd. (AQP) 192.70p -4.03%Croda International (CRDA) 1,752.00p -3.74%Bwin.party Digital Entertainment (BPTY) 109.90p -3.60%Gem Diamonds Ltd. (DI) (GEMD) 222.10p -2.80%Ashtead Group (AHT) 166.80p -2.74%Petropavlovsk (POG) 764.00p -2.49%Home Retail Group (HOME) 105.60p -2.49%TalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) 134.70p -2.39%Carpetright (CPR) 470.20p -2.33%