London open: Stocks rise ahead of GDP data

- Q1 GDP expected to be flat- ARM up on upgrades, Apple earnings- Ex-div stocks lead the downsideStocks rose moderately in early trade on Wednesday as the Footsie still attempts to recover from Monday's steep sell-off.The release of first-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) figures for the UK is due out on 09:30. Investec expects GDP to remain unchanged "with a possibility of a decline", while Barclays Capital predicts flat output following the 0.3% fall the quarter before. Consensus estimates are for a 0.1% increase. After GDP declined in the fourth quarter of 2011 a second negative quarter-on-quarter change would, by many economists' definitions, pitch the UK officially back into recession and no doubt deal a further blow to Prime Minister David Cameron's plummeting poll ratings. Meanwhile, the two-day meeting of Federal Reserve policymakers also comes to an end later tonight and while economists are broadly expecting the central bank to keep rates unchanged, the focus will be on the following press conference with Chairman Ben Bernanke for comments about the US economy.FTSE 100: ARM, financials lead the riseSmartphone chip designer ARM Holdings was the best performer in the opening hour after Natixis upgraded the stock from neutral to buy and Jefferies raised its recommendation from underperform to hold. Barclays Capital also reiterated its overweight rating this morning. A surge in earnings for Apple (a company which uses ARM technology) last night will also be providing upwards pressure on the shares today.Assets under administration (AUA) at life assurance leviathan Standard Life rose a bit more than the market had been expecting in the first quarter of 2012, causing shares to advance. Financial peers RBS, Lloyds and Barclays were also making gains.Capital Shopping Centres rose despite seeing a 2% year-on-year fall in footfall at its centres in the year-to-date.Diversified mining group Rio Tinto rose after receiving regulatory approvals for the development and operation of the Simandou iron ore project in Guinea.Leading the downside was Centrica, Reed Elsevier, Tesco and Rolls-Royce after going ex-dividend.Russian miner Polymetal was lower despite saying that it is on track to deliver one million ounces of gold equivalent production in 2012. Revenue in 2011 rose 43% to $1,326m helped by rising gold prices.FTSE 250: Updates impress early onOil and gas engineering firm Lamprell was a high riser after saying it was to build two further rigs for Abu Dhabi's National Drilling Company. The company already has four of the jackup rigs under construction for the Middle Eastern company. The latest deal will net Lamprell $166.65m, with delivery scheduled to be in the fourth quarter of 2014 and first quarter of 2015 respectively. Metals and alloys treatment firm Bodycote rose after it reported a good performance in the first quarter of 2012 and said it was on track to meet full-year forecasts. Sales at sportswear retailer Sports Direct exceeded management's expectations in February and March. Group total sales for the nine weeks ending March 25th 2012 were up 13.2% to £267.6m from £236.4m in the corresponding period of last year.Oil and gas firm Premier Oil was up after receiving approval of its field development plan for the Solan field in the UK Continental Shelf from the Department of Energy and Climate ChangeEvents, marketing and publishing group UBM was in demand as it maintained full-year guidance after a solid first quarter performance from its Events business offset weakness elsewhere. FTSE 100 - RisersARM Holdings (ARM) 548.00p +3.10%Vedanta Resources (VED) 1,203.00p +2.38%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 23.73p +1.85%Standard Life (SL.) 228.10p +1.83%Barclays (BARC) 214.45p +1.64%IMI (IMI) 995.50p +1.63%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 30.83p +1.58%Tullow Oil (TLW) 1,503.00p +1.42%ICAP (IAP) 372.00p +1.31%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 868.00p +1.22%FTSE 100 - FallersCentrica (CNA) 311.30p -3.47%Reed Elsevier (REL) 510.00p -3.04%Tesco (TSCO) 317.40p -2.47%Tate & Lyle (TATE) 671.00p -0.96%Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 812.50p -0.91%Fresnillo (FRES) 1,556.00p -0.83%Associated British Foods (ABF) 1,229.00p -0.81%British American Tobacco (BATS) 3,134.00p -0.73%Polymetal International (POLY) 944.00p -0.63%Shire Plc (SHP) 2,001.00p -0.55%FTSE 250 - RisersKesa Electricals (KESA) 58.35p +5.32%Lamprell (LAM) 337.70p +4.68%Imagination Technologies Group (IMG) 710.00p +3.42%Sports Direct International (SPD) 294.00p +3.16%Bodycote (BOY) 436.70p +3.14%Premier Oil (PMO) 379.70p +3.10%Stobart Group Ltd. (STOB) 129.00p +3.04%Ladbrokes (LAD) 178.40p +2.76%Rank Group (RNK) 124.00p +2.65%Domino Printing Sciences (DNO) 599.50p +2.65%FTSE 250 - FallersFidessa Group (FDSA) 1,480.00p -3.33%TalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) 126.00p -2.70%Greggs (GRG) 501.50p -2.53%Hansteen Holdings (HSTN) 72.15p -2.50%International Public Partnerships Ltd. (INPP) 118.50p -2.47%Tullett Prebon (TLPR) 336.30p -2.24%National Express Group (NEX) 211.80p -2.22%Informa (INF) 413.00p -2.13%Drax Group (DRX) 536.00p -1.74%Balfour Beatty (BBY) 259.80p -1.59%BC