London open: Stocks rise after Chinese data

- Footsie gains after upbeat Chinese data- Volumes expected to be light with US markets closed- SABMiller and Man Group lead gains on FTSE 350UK stocks started Thursday's session with moderate gains after some upbeat manufacturing figures from China, though trade is expected to be light with US markets closed for Thanksgiving.The 'flash' HSBC Chinese purchasing managers' index for the month of October came in at 50.4, up from 49.5 for the previous month. That constitutes a thirteen month high. Financial sales trader Matthew Nelson from Spreadex said :"News that manufacturing output had risen in China for the first time in more than a year helped to underpin sentiment in the East and the figures have also aided the prospects of UK metals and energy companies with the bulk of this morning's shift coming from the two sectors."Markus Huber, the head of German HNW trading at ETX Capital, said this morning: "Also some relief has provided the news that Israel and Hamas have agreed to a temporary ceasefire, especially after yesterday's bomb attack on an Israeli bus increased the likelihood that the conflict might could spiral out of complete control." He said that trading volumes are likely to be well below average today with equity and bonds markets closed Stateside for the Thanksgiving holiday. "Furthermore traders and investors most likely will remain on the sidelines as they have resigned themselves to the fact that  any major progress what averting the 'fiscal cliff' and plugging the latest financial hole in Greece is concerned is rather unlikely before next week," he said.FTSE 100: SABMiller jumps after first-half resultsSABMiller, one of the world's largest brewers, managed to beat analysts' forecasts for revenue and earnings in the first half as its hiked its interim dividend by 12%. Investors shrugged off the group's comments that it has seen a "moderation of growth" in some emerging markets. Mining stocks were also performing well this morning on the back of the Chinese manufacturing data: Vedanta, EVRAZ, ENRC, Glencore, Xstrata and Kazakhmys were among the highest risers early on.Following a sharp fall yesterday after its first-half figures, chemicals group Johnson Matthey rebounded after Credit Suisse upgraded the stock from 'neutral' to 'outperform' and lifted its target price from 2,300p to 2,400p. The broker said: "We think the short-term negatives have now been flagged and are in the share price. Mid-term, we forecast good growth, and believe the shares are at a reasonable price."Meanwhile, global insurer RSA was in demand after appointing a Lloyds Banking Group executive, Martin Scicluna, as its new Chairman.Consumer goods giant Reckitt Benckiser gained after signing a definitive merger agreement with healthy snack maker Schiff Nutrition International.FTSE 250: Man Group provides a lift early onFund manager Man Group advanced this morning after the Financial Times reported that it has moved $1.5bn of its flagship fund AHL into a new portfolio in order to raise returns.Home emergency repairs group HomeServe was out of favour after Liberum Capital downgraded its rating on the shares to 'hold' and cut its target price from 260p to 250p.Defence group Cobham rose after its aviation division secured a multi-million dollar extension on a contract to fly miners to remote parts of Western Australia.Residential property owner-manager Grainger was higher despite cautioning that it expects subdued market conditions to persist through 2013. The company reported a 3.2% rise in net asset value per share in the year to September 30th.FTSE 100 - RisersSABMiller (SAB) 2,767.50p +5.11%Evraz (EVR) 234.00p +3.40%Anglo American (AAL) 1,712.00p +1.81%Vedanta Resources (VED) 1,075.00p +1.70%Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 273.50p +1.67%Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 2,225.00p +1.60%Capital Shopping Centres Group (CSCG) 343.60p +1.60%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 693.00p +1.46%Xstrata (XTA) 1,011.50p +1.45%Wolseley (WOS) 2,791.00p +1.42%FTSE 100 - FallersTate & Lyle (TATE) 761.50p -0.39%Shire Plc (SHP) 1,781.00p -0.34%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 45.63p -0.24%Severn Trent (SVT) 1,566.00p -0.19%Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,437.50p -0.17%Experian (EXPN) 1,019.00p -0.10%SSE (SSE) 1,395.00p -0.07%Old Mutual (OML) 169.30p -0.06%FTSE 250 - RisersDixons Retail (DXNS) 26.06p +4.24%Man Group (EMG) 76.15p +4.24%Ferrexpo (FXPO) 213.50p +2.69%Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group (JLT) 760.50p +1.60%Kier Group (KIE) 1,158.00p +1.58%Fenner (FENR) 380.40p +1.44%Bank of Georgia Holdings (BGEO) 1,097.00p +1.39%ICAP (IAP) 293.80p +1.38%Tullett Prebon (TLPR) 226.60p +1.30%Home Retail Group (HOME) 106.10p +1.24%FTSE 250 - FallersHochschild Mining (HOC) 478.50p -2.74%Talvivaara Mining Company (TALV) 101.50p -2.22%Euromoney Institutional Investor (ERM) 774.00p -1.84%Perform Group (PER) 390.00p -1.76%Redrow (RDW) 156.94p -1.48%PayPoint (PAY) 867.88p -0.98%Grainger (GRI) 114.00p -0.87%QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 195.00p -0.76%RIT Capital Partners (RCP) 1,126.51p -0.75%Unite Group (UTG) 264.20p -0.68%BC