London open: German confidence data boosts stocks

The FTSE 100 edged higher in early trade on Friday morning on a relatively quiet day for company news after German consumer confidence data lifted sentiment.GfK said that its forward-looking German consumer confidence index held steady at 5.7 points for June, unchanged from May. "Consumer sentiment in Germany is stable going into the summer," GfK said. "Despite recessionary tendencies in Europe and rising uncertainty from the debt crisis, people see the economy growing. Elections in France and Greece have had no negative effects". This will be welcome news for markets given that Germany's IFO business climate index fell to a six-month low yesterday.In other news, Italy's Prime Minister Mario Monti has claimed that "Europe could soon see eurobonds". Monti said that "there are more countries in favour of the proposal than against it. German Chancellor Angela Merkel continues to oppose the measure as it insists that countries must first become fiscally responsible. Monti says that Germany would eventually change its mind.Concerns over the ongoing crisis in the Eurozone pushed the euro close to its lowest levels (against the dollar) in two years on Thursday on the back of a barrage of weak economic data released yesterday. This morning, the euro had rebounded 0.31% to $1.2572.Financials lead the riseFinancial stocks were making gains on the FTSE 100 in early trading, with Aviva, Man Group, Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland among the highest risers. Heading the other way were the miners with Xstrata, Glencore and Randgold registering slight losses.Investors of Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza owner InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) seemed to welcome the news that former Unilever CEO Patrick Cescau would be replacing IHG Chairman David Webster at the end of 2012.United Utilities was extending gains made yesterday when it said that it has seen a marked improvement in customer satisfaction in the last year or so, and it is on track to meet regulatory out-performance targets. The big mover of the day was on the FTSE 250; Cape, the energy and mineral resources services provider, plummeted after it revealed that its full-year profits will be held back by a £14m one-off charge related to its GL3-Z LNG (liquified natural gas) Project in Arzew, Algeria. Revenue guidance is unchanged.International Public Partnerships (IPP), the infrastructure investment company, rose after announcing that it is tapping the market for funds to pay down its debt and stock up its war-chest. The company is raising £180m through an open offer of shares to be issued at 116.25p each, with any unsold new shares being disposed of via a subscription offer and a placing.Construction and maintenance firm Interserve was wanted after announcing two contracts in the north of England, worth a combined £200m.FTSE 100 - RisersAviva (AV.) 274.80p +2.54%Aggreko (AGK) 2,155.00p +2.28%Man Group (EMG) 74.00p +1.79%Evraz (EVR) 314.00p +1.72%United Utilities Group (UU.) 646.50p +1.49%International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 146.10p +1.46%Carnival (CCL) 2,090.00p +1.41%Legal & General Group (LGEN) 112.30p +1.26%Shire Plc (SHP) 1,898.00p +1.12%ARM Holdings (ARM) 500.50p +1.07%FTSE 100 - FallersXstrata (XTA) 923.30p -1.25%Glencore International (GLEN) 342.60p -0.98%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 5,125.00p -0.87%Rexam (REX) 390.80p -0.79%Meggitt (MGGT) 376.50p -0.74%Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 1,543.00p -0.58%Kingfisher (KGF) 278.80p -0.50%Land Securities Group (LAND) 710.00p -0.49%BAE Systems (BA.) 272.00p -0.44%Capital Shopping Centres Group (CSCG) 318.90p -0.41%FTSE 250 - RisersLogica (LOG) 68.60p +4.49%CSR (CSR) 215.20p +3.36%Talvivaara Mining Company (TALV) 148.20p +2.49%Supergroup (SGP) 326.00p +2.48%Intermediate Capital Group (ICP) 259.40p +2.29%BTG (BGC) 374.40p +2.24%Morgan Crucible Co (MGCR) 270.10p +2.12%Ferrexpo (FXPO) 214.20p +2.00%Elementis (ELM) 209.60p +1.80%Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 1,140.00p +1.79%FTSE 250 - FallersCape (CIU) 198.30p -38.70%Hays (HAS) 71.45p -1.52%Booker Group (BOK) 77.30p -1.47%Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC) 32.56p -1.36%Gem Diamonds Ltd. (DI) (GEMD) 208.20p -1.19%Aquarius Platinum Ltd. (AQP) 71.35p -1.18%TR Property Inv Trust (TRY) 144.60p -1.09%Informa (INF) 356.10p -1.06%Dunelm Group (DNLM) 500.00p -0.99%Brewin Dolphin Holdings (BRW) 142.40p -0.97%BC