London open: Stock rise ahead of UK Budget after failed vote in Cyprus

The decision by Cyprus to reject a 10bn-euro bailout deal that included a tax on bank accounts didn't take markets by surprise on Wednesday morning, as stocks started the day with moderate gains.Last night's vote - which saw a unanimous rejection of the proposal - was widely expected to fail given the public backlash of the last few days over the plan to raise €5.8bn from a one-off levy. While international lenders have reiterated their commitment to providing aid, Cyprus will have to come up with a 'plan B' to raise the extra funds. The Troika is unwilling to increase the size of the bailout beyond €10bn because the debt would become unmanageable for the country. Cyprus is now seeking extra financial assistance from Russia, with the country's finance minister flying to Moscow, possibly in exchange for gas exploration rights. President Nicos Anastasiades is said to have had a half-hour phone conversation with Russian Premier Vladimir Putin that was "fruitful and constructive", according to a government spokesman.Michael Hewson, the Senior Market Analyst at CMC Markets, said: "As things stand a deal with Russia may be the most likely option for Cyprus, unless the EU blinks and softens the terms of the deal, which could be a tough sell for the German parliament in particular in an election year. In the absence of a deal a number of Cyprus MPs have said they will leave the euro."UK BudgetWhile a close eye will kept on developments in Cyprus, the main focus for the markets today will be the Budget Statement by Chancellor George Osborne which begins at 12:30. Several details have emerged so far, including plans to cut spending across governmental departments by a collective £2.5bn over the next two years. Meanwhile, it is rumoured that Osborne will also bring forward an increase in the tax-free allowance and push back a rise in fuel duty to help low- and middle-income earners.Analysts from Barclays Research said this morning that they don't expect "any sizeable new fiscal measures". However, they predict that borrowing for 2013 to be revised upwards by around £7.0bn to £88bn, "largely reflecting unexpected cyclical weakness".Also keeping traders on the edge of their seats will be minutes of the latest Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting published at 09:30. The decision to keep the Bank Rate unchanged at 0.5% at the March meeting is expected to have been unanimous, but the MPC is again thought to have been split six-to-three in favour of keeping the asset purchase programme at £375bn.ENRC slips after falling into the red in 2012ENRC labelled 2012 as a "challenging year" as a swing into the red led to the miner scrapping its final dividend. The resources giant recorded a loss before tax of $550m, down from a profit of $2.76bn the year before, as it took impairment charges and an onerous contract provision totalling $1.54bn. Smiths Group, the diversified industrial firm, edged higher after rewarding shareholders with a 6.0% increase in the dividend after posting a rise in half-year revenue and profit.Oil and gas services company Wood Group also rose after saying it has won 11 new contracts in Africa worth a combined $240m.Bakery and hot snacks retailer Greggs slumped after serving up a mixed bag of results for 2012: full-year sales rose 4.8% while but profits slipped 2.2%.FTSE 100 - RisersVedanta Resources (VED) 1,134.00p +1.89%GKN (GKN) 277.00p +1.73%RSA Insurance Group (RSA) 117.20p +1.65%Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 377.50p +1.64%Polymetal International (POLY) 871.00p +1.57%Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 1,543.00p +1.45%Wolseley (WOS) 3,347.00p +1.36%Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 1,124.00p +1.35%Old Mutual (OML) 209.90p +1.30%Resolution Ltd. (RSL) 271.50p +1.27%FTSE 100 - FallersAviva (AV.) 316.10p -2.20%Pearson (PSON) 1,173.00p -1.51%Weir Group (WEIR) 2,300.00p -1.08%Centrica (CNA) 351.60p -0.96%InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 1,981.00p -0.85%London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) 1,348.00p -0.59%Anglo American (AAL) 1,811.00p -0.49%Severn Trent (SVT) 1,665.00p -0.48%ITV (ITV) 130.30p -0.46%Admiral Group (ADM) 1,333.00p -0.45%FTSE 250 - RisersElementis (ELM) 280.00p +5.70%Bumi (BUMI) 318.30p +3.31%Carpetright (CPR) 699.00p +2.87%Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 108.40p +2.85%Ocado Group (OCDO) 157.20p +2.54%Betfair Group (BET) 713.00p +2.52%Bank of Georgia Holdings (BGEO) 1,489.00p +2.48%Anite (AIE) 130.90p +2.27%Bwin.party Digital Entertainment (BPTY) 146.90p +1.94%Savills (SVS) 597.50p +1.62%FTSE 250 - FallersLancashire Holdings (LRE) 848.00p -6.71%Greggs (GRG) 489.00p -6.59%SEGRO (SGRO) 255.10p -3.55%Ladbrokes (LAD) 226.30p -2.20%Moneysupermarket.com Group (MONY) 192.50p -2.04%BH Global Ltd. USD Shares (BHGU) 11.9 -1.98%Heritage Oil (HOIL) 185.10p -1.96%St. Modwen Properties (SMP) 245.00p -1.84%Galliford Try (GFRD) 927.50p -1.80%Go-Ahead Group (GOG) 1,483.00p -1.79%BC