London open: Banks lead the rise

The FTSE 100 has risen higher in early trading, led by the banks, as the blue chip index extended gains on the back of the an announcement by the European Central Bank (ECB) made yesterday.US and Asian markets performed well on Thursday and overnight, respectively, on news that the ECB - along with the Federal Reserve, the Bank of England, the Bank of Japan and the Swiss National Bank - will conduct three US dollar liquidity-providing operations to help out Eurozone banks.Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds were among the top performers in the opening minutes.Meanwhile, all eyes are on the Eurogroup meeting this weekend between European finance minsters in Wroclaw, Poland. US Treasury secretary Timothy Geithner will also be there. He has recently suggested that the continent should "leverage up" the European Financial Stability Fund. Company announcements were thin on the ground this morning.On the FTSE 250, food label printer Domino Printing plummeted after saying that while sales were 4% ahead in the first 10 months of the year, the group is seeing some softening in demand in Western Europe and North America.Close Brothers, the FTSE 250 banking , securities and asset management firm, edged higher after disposing of its 49.9% stake in Mako Global Derivatives Executive, a market maker in exchange traded derivatives, for $40m (£25.3m) in cash.Exillon Energy rose after saying that its well EWS I-44 has found oil in West Siberia. The FTSE 250 Russia-focused oil producer said that the well was spudded on 1 August and flowed water-free oil naturally to the surface with a flow rate of 768 barrels per day. Satellite operator Avanti Communications was wanted following the announcement that it has been awarded a place on the Kent County Council Rural Broadband framework.BCFTSE 100 - RisersBarclays (BARC) 164.70p +4.24%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 24.61p +3.75%ITV (ITV) 59.20p +3.59%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 36.96p +2.92%BG Group (BG.) 1,295.50p +2.65%Intertek Group (ITRK) 2,048.00p +2.40%Pearson (PSON) 1,128.00p +1.62%Legal & General Group (LGEN) 98.50p +1.60%Aviva (AV.) 311.10p +1.53%Inmarsat (ISAT) 505.00p +1.41%FTSE 100 - FallersFresnillo (FRES) 1,880.00p -1.42%Wood Group (John) (WG.) 564.50p -0.88%ARM Holdings (ARM) 606.00p -0.66%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 1,060.00p -0.56%Man Group (EMG) 239.10p -0.42%Lonmin (LMI) 1,211.00p -0.41%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 6,705.00p -0.37%3i Group (III) 199.00p -0.35%Imperial Tobacco Group (IMT) 1,998.00p -0.30%Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 281.70p -0.25%FTSE 250 - RisersExillon Energy (EXI) 304.50p +3.92%Barratt Developments (BDEV) 83.70p +3.27%Aquarius Platinum Ltd. (AQP) 224.90p +3.17%SThree (STHR) 234.10p +2.68%Hansteen Holdings (HSTN) 77.00p +2.67%Talvivaara Mining Company (TALV) 307.80p +2.60%Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 33.40p +2.33%Soco International (SIA) 365.60p +2.07%Law Debenture Corp. (LWDB) 337.00p +1.97%Regus (RGU) 76.25p +1.94%FTSE 250 - FallersDomino Printing Sciences (DNO) 508.00p -9.61%Spirit Pub Company (SPRT) 41.00p -4.65%Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) 212.90p -3.10%Enterprise Inns (ETI) 38.12p -2.66%Gem Diamonds Ltd. (DI) (GEMD) 228.70p -2.26%Telecom Plus (TEP) 676.00p -2.03%Filtrona PLC (FLTR) 356.00p -1.87%African Barrick Gold (ABG) 586.50p -1.43%Bodycote (BOY) 275.20p -1.36%Afren (AFR) 104.00p -1.33%