Sector movers: RBS leads banks higher as markets surge

Every sector in London was trading in positive territory on Thursday as dovish comments by central banks in the UK and Europe sparked a market-wide surge with the FTSE 100 up around three per cent by late afternoon.The Bank of England and European Central Bank both dampened expectations of potential near-term hikes in interest rates by giving more forward guidance than the market has been used to in their policy statements today."With the prospect of interest rate changes in the UK and the Eurozone kicked firmly into the long grass, European markets have breathed a collective sigh of relief," said Alister Gaines, the Director of CDC Wealth Management, in a statement this afternoon.Cyclical stocks - equities that tend to perform well when the economic outlook improves - were among the highest risers today, with banks and miners benefitting from the bullish mood.Banks in particular were putting in a decent performance with RBS leading the way after it emerged that rivals are considering bids for its structured retail products and equity derivatives business. The bank has received expressions of interest from "a large number of parties", a person familiar with the sale said.The stock was also given a boost by comments from Nomura which said that an improving housing market in the UK should rub off on domestic banks. The broker thinks that house prices are too low and could rise by 15% by the end of 2015, with the government's 'Help to Buy' scheme increasing the demand for credit.Nomura raised its rating for Lloyds from 'reduce' to 'neutral' as part of the sector review, causing shares in the domestic lender to rise strongly today.Banking peers Barclays, Standard Chartered and HSBC were also registering decent gains.Top performing sectors so far todayForestry & Paper 9,107.18 +4.32%Banks 4,919.13 +4.27%Beverages 14,636.01 +3.84%Mining 14,790.79 +3.77%Automobiles & Parts 7,463.11 +3.70%