London open: MPC expected to be watching services PMI data

London stocks have begun the day higher, boosted by the strong showing seen overnight on Wall Street - on the back of dovish comments from US Fed Vice-Chairman Janet Yellen - and ahead of potentially key data expected to be released today, in the United Kingdom. At 09:30 Markit will release its service sector purchasing managers´ survey for the month of February which could, conceivably, bring the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) closer to a fresh increase in the size of its asset repurchase program, or 'QE' as it is commonly referred to.Leading the charge higher are shares of Wood Group and Serco, following their latest yearly results. WPP is one of the few issues which is down today, after being downgraded by analysts at Berenberg to sell (Investec has reiterated buy). Highlighting how difficult the current situation is, Pearson Chief Executive Officer, John Fallon, has told staff at the Financial Times that there will be fewer jobs in the US and UK, as the publisher focuses on emerging markets, according to a person who attended the confidential meeting, Bloomberg reports. More specifically, he informed personnel of his intention to carry out a restructuring, in one year, which would usually be carried out in six.In less negative news, overnight the British Retail Consortium reported that retail sales - in value terms - increased at a 4.4% year-on-year clip in February, up from a 3.0% pace in January and 1.5% in December. That was the fastest rate since February 2010.In other significant news, Countrywide has set the range for its initial public offering at between £2.60-3.50.Acting as a backdrop, outgoing Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has told delegates at China's National People's Congress (NPC) that the country must do more to rebalance growth towards consumption.FTSE 100: Specialisation paying off for Wood groupInternational energy services company Wood Group, has posted a solid 20% rise in revenue from continuing operations for its full year ended December 31st, boosted by growth in all three divisions. Earnings before interst, tax, and amortisation (EBITA) from continuing operations came in at $461.1m (2011: $341.6m), up 35%. The EBITA margin increased from 6.0% to 6.8%. Commodities trader Glencore has announced a full year adjusted net profit of $3.06bn, slightly less than was expected by the markets, although it sees a global recovery under way. The company has sets April 16th as the deadline for the completion of its merger with Xstrata.International Services firm Serco Group has reported a 2012 operating profit of £287m, up 8% on revenues of £4.91bn. "2013 outlook comments stress a modest increase in organic revenue growth which, given the 3.3% FY12 figure, we interpret as in line with previous guidance towards a 5% growth rate," Jefferies comments. "The preliminary results contain several positive catalysts including strong FCF conversion, a rebasing of the dividend pay-out and reassuring fiscal year estimated 2013 guidance," the broker adds.Meggitt, the international company specialising in high performance components and sub-systems for aerospace, defence and energy markets, has been selected to provide a package of thermal management products for certain types of LEAP engine for French manufacturer Snecma (Safran), in a deal valued at $175m.FTSE 250: Ophir Energy attracting some attentionShares of Ophir Energy are bouncing back again today, possibly on the back of reports highlighting the attractiveness of the company for potential suitors, such as Shell or Cnooc.Office space group Regus has announced full year pre-tax operating profits of £90.2m.Equipment rental group Ashtead has reported a third quarter pre-tax profit of £53.8m on the back of revenues of £333.9m, up from £271m in the year ago period. The company has also lifted its full year profit targets.FTSE 100 - RisersSerco Group (SRP) 640.00p +10.54%Wood Group (John) (WG.) 800.50p +5.61%Xstrata (XTA) 1,138.00p +3.50%Meggitt (MGGT) 474.80p +3.42%Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,838.00p +3.26%Glencore International (GLEN) 379.85p +2.68%GKN (GKN) 283.00p +2.57%Standard Life (SL.) 371.30p +2.31%Capita (CPI) 903.50p +2.21%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 567.00p +2.16%FTSE 100 - FallersIntu Properties (INTU) 336.50p -0.77%SSE (SSE) 1,466.00p -0.20%Vodafone Group (VOD) 167.40p -0.18%Croda International (CRDA) 2,619.00p -0.15%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 5,380.00p -0.09%British American Tobacco (BATS) 3,563.00p -0.03%United Utilities Group (UU.) 745.00p 0.00%Carnival (CCL) 2,517.00p +0.08%Intertek Group (ITRK) 3,429.00p +0.18%Centrica (CNA) 362.10p +0.19%FTSE 250 - RisersRegus (RGU) 139.60p +7.80%Ashtead Group (AHT) 564.50p +7.63%Ophir Energy (OPHR) 488.10p +5.72%Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group (JLT) 845.50p +4.58%JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 835.00p +4.38%Ferrexpo (FXPO) 212.20p +4.07%Michael Page International (MPI) 455.20p +4.07%Centamin (DI) (CEY) 51.70p +3.63%Kier Group (KIE) 1,317.00p +3.38%Henderson Group (HGG) 161.60p +3.19%FTSE 250 - FallersDaejan Holdings (DJAN) 3,440.00p -1.71%Redrow (RDW) 171.70p -1.60%Kenmare Resources (KMR) 33.97p -1.45%Ted Baker (TED) 1,230.00p -1.20%Millennium & Copthorne Hotels (MLC) 549.50p -1.08%Hochschild Mining (HOC) 356.40p -1.00%Laird (LRD) 242.00p -0.98%Telecom Plus (TEP) 979.50p -0.91%Diploma (DPLM) 612.50p -0.89%IP Group (IPO) 135.90p -0.80%FTSE TechMARK - RisersFiltronic (FTC) 73.00p +9.77%Xaar (XAR) 335.00p +3.08%Gresham Computing (GHT) 85.44p +2.32%Vectura Group (VEC) 94.50p +2.16%Innovation Group (TIG) 25.25p +2.02%Sepura (SEPU) 96.00p +1.86%Wolfson Microelectronics (WLF) 197.00p +0.51%Optos (OPTS) 205.00p +0.49%Consort Medical (CSRT) 738.50p +0.34%NCC Group (NCC) 149.75p +0.17%FTSE TechMARK - FallersArk Therapeutics Group (AKT) 0.85p -10.53%XP Power Ltd. (DI) (XPP) 1,125.00p -2.85%Phytopharm (PYM) 1.68p -1.47%Kofax (KFX) 286.00p -0.69%Ricardo (RCDO) 400.00p -0.37%Triad Group (TRD) 6.00p 0.00%Parity Group (PTY) 26.50p 0.00%Antisoma (ASM) 1.88p 0.00%Torotrak (TRK) 24.75p 0.00%Promethean World (PRW) 17.50p 0.00%