London open: Flat start for the Footsie

The FTSE 100 opened flat on Friday morning following yesterday's massive 2.9% gain on the back of strong US economic data and the pivotal Eurozone agreements announced yesterday. SUBDUED START AFTER STRONG DAY ON THURSDAYStock 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.By the open in London, Brent crude was trading 0.5% lower at $111.52 as Japanese factory production fell by 4% last month, spurring concerns for demand. Royal Dutch Shell, Tullow Oil and BP were among the worst performers early on.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.BCFTSE 100 - RisersJohnson Matthey (JMAT) 1,959.00p +1.45%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 27.64p +1.36%ARM Holdings (ARM) 614.50p +1.32%Barclays (BARC) 212.75p +1.31%Smith & Nephew (SN.) 580.00p +1.05%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 37.45p +1.01%Schroders (SDR) 1,494.00p +0.95%HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 560.50p +0.94%Fresnillo (FRES) 1,745.00p +0.93%Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 708.50p +0.85%FTSE 100 - FallersRoyal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 2,256.50p -1.03%International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (IAG) 178.80p -0.89%Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 2,310.00p -0.86%Tullow Oil (TLW) 1,451.00p -0.82%Glencore International (GLEN) 440.50p -0.77%BP (BP.) 464.70p -0.67%Amec (AMEC) 928.00p -0.59%AstraZeneca (AZN) 3,064.00p -0.54%Wolseley (WOS) 1,925.00p -0.52%ICAP (IAP) 419.20p -0.50%