RBS pleased investors after saying that pre-tax profit surged to 1.64bn pounds in the first three months of 2013, up from 826m pounds the year before and ahead of forecasts.

This came despite a 2% fall in income to £5.05bn, as expenses fell 6% and impairment losses dropped 65%."The first-quarter [statement] appears at first read to be way above consensus and our forecast," said Analyst Mike Trippitt at Numis Securities.

A special dividend and a strong first-quarter performance were plated up for IHG shareholders today, after it delivered its best 'RevPAR' performance in seven quarters.

Barratt Developments climbed after the group had its 'buy' rating reiterated by Citigroup. Building merchant Travis Perkins was also higher.

Communications services giant WPP has acquired mobile media agency and mobile technology company aMVG (Aerodon) to strengthen its capabilities in digital media. The Turkey-based media group, which was founded in 2002, provides services such as mobile marketing campaigns, loyalty platforms and applications development.

Meanwhile, beverage cans maker Rexam fell after saying that regional trading conditions were mixed in the first quarter. The company also announced that foreign exchange movements will be a headwind going forward, while metal premiums are at record highs. Packaging peer Mondi was also lower.

BSkyB retreated from yesterday's strong rise, which came after it reported continued investment in connected television services was repaid with better-than-expected new subscriptions.


FTSE 100 - Risers
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 335.90p +9.56%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 2,189.00p +8.15%
Shire Plc (SHP) 3,538.00p +2.55%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 373.70p +1.44%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 223.40p +1.25%
SABMiller (SAB) 3,248.00p +1.20%
Old Mutual (OML) 202.90p +1.20%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,918.50p +1.19%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 1,209.00p +1.17%
Travis Perkins (TPK) 1,764.00p +0.92%

FTSE 100 - Fallers
Associated British Foods (ABF) 2,915.00p -2.74%
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,194.00p -1.73%
Mondi (MNDI) 965.50p -1.73%
Rexam (REX) 502.00p -1.57%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 3,399.50p -1.44%
Reed Elsevier (REL) 872.50p -1.30%
British Sky Broadcasting Group (BSY) 889.00p -1.28%
Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 4,827.00p -1.15%
Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,326.00p -1.12%
GKN (GKN) 382.90p -1.06%

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