London open: Markets rise as earnings impress

Well-received updates and results from easyJet, ARM Holdings, Tate & Lyle, Compass and Kingfisher pushed the FTSE 100 firmly into positive territory on Wednesday morning, as markets shrugged off disappointing economic data from China.HSBC's flash China manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) fell from 48.2 to 47.7 in July, missing expectations of no change. Any figure below 50 indicates a contraction in activity in the sector."Under normal circumstances, this would weigh heavily on investor sentiment and therefore risk assets, such as the European indices, however that is not the case this morning," said Market Analyst Craig Erlam from Alpari.Downside risks to growth were tempered yesterday by the country's Premier Li Keqiang who assured that the pace of expansion would not fall below the "bottom line" of 7.0% this year, indicating that any slowdown would be met with more stimulus."This should limit the short-term negativity surrounding poor Chinese data because it seems for now that growth is guaranteed to remain at these higher levels," Erlam said.FTSE 100: Updates impress early oneasyJet surged this morning after the budget airline achieved a 10.5% rise in third-quarter revenue to £1.14bn, bolstered by an increase in capacity and growth in revenue per seat. Chip designer ARM Holdings was also on the riser after delivering better-than-expected second-quarter sales and profits. The company also said that dollar revenues would be "at least in line" with market expectations.Food ingredients firm Tate & Lyle gained after saying that adjusted profits were in line with expectations in spite of tough weather conditions in the States in the first quarter.Foodservice and support services company Compass rose after saying expectations for the full year remain "positive and unchanged" following a strong third quarter.Kingfisher, the DIY retail group behind B&Q and Screwfix, said it is on track to hit expectations for the first half after a pick-up in activity in the second quarter. Pharmaceuticals giant GlaxoSmithKline was trading higher early on ahead of its results out later on today.Exchange operator London Stock Exchange was in the red after going ex-dividend. Standard Chartered was also lower after Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock to 'equal weight' and cut its target price from 1,830p to 1,627p.FTSE 100 - RiserseasyJet (EZJ) 1,408.00p +5.39%ARM Holdings (ARM) 923.50p +2.84%International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 292.30p +2.24%Tate & Lyle (TATE) 839.00p +1.88%Antofagasta (ANTO) 871.00p +1.63%Compass Group (CPG) 888.50p +1.43%Associated British Foods (ABF) 1,888.00p +1.40%Kingfisher (KGF) 390.20p +1.40%GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,694.00p +1.29%Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 2,333.00p +1.28%FTSE 100 - FallersMeggitt (MGGT) 537.00p -1.83%Croda International (CRDA) 2,405.00p -1.80%Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,496.50p -1.25%Amec (AMEC) 1,059.00p -1.21%Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 1,169.00p -0.93%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 4,802.00p -0.89%BG Group (BG.) 1,203.00p -0.62%Sage Group (SGE) 356.80p -0.61%RSA Insurance Group (RSA) 126.40p -0.47%London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) 1,548.00p -0.45%FTSE 250 - RisersWetherspoon (J.D.) (JDW) 704.50p +5.46%Imagination Technologies Group (IMG) 262.50p +4.71%Bumi (BUMI) 224.90p +3.88%Hochschild Mining (HOC) 168.90p +2.99%Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 424.70p +2.34%Dialight (DIA) 1,212.00p +2.28%Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 1,377.00p +2.23%Evraz (EVR) 107.50p +1.99%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 277.30p +1.76%Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 150.80p +1.55%FTSE 250 - FallersRenishaw (RSW) 1,469.00p -6.25%TalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) 243.90p -3.21%Chemring Group (CHG) 301.50p -1.50%African Barrick Gold (ABG) 115.10p -1.46%Carpetright (CPR) 668.00p -1.33%Ocado Group (OCDO) 320.90p -1.26%ITE Group (ITE) 289.80p -1.09%Home Retail Group (HOME) 153.90p -1.03%F&C Commercial Property Trust Ltd. (FCPT) 109.70p -0.99%Beazley (BEZ) 223.50p -0.97%BC