The FTSE 100 nudged higher in afternoon trading after swinging between gains and losses all day, as some better-than-expected US economic data boosted equities stateside.

Lifting sentiment late on was the Conference Board's consumer confidence index which rose from a revised 40.9 in October to 56 this month. This was the biggest one-month increase since April 2003, and smashed average predictions of 44, according to Bloomberg.

OBR CUTS GROWTH ESTIMATES, ECOFIN MEETING EYED

UK stocks headed south after lunch following George Osborne's keenly-watched Autumn statement, in which he revealed that the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has cut its forecasts for economic growth. The Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that the OBR now expects gross domestic product to increase by just 0.9% in 2011 and 0.7% in 2012, down from earlier predictions of 1.7% and 2.5%, respectively.

He also said that borrowing would be £5bn more this year than originally forecast. It is predicted to be £19bn higher next year and £30bn higher in 2013-14, but the Chancellor also said that lower market interest rates meant the UK's debt interest payments would be £22bn less than predicted this parliament.

In regards to the European crisis, Osborne warned that "if the rest of Europe heads into recession it may prove hard to avoid one here in the UK."

Across the continent, markets registered moderate gains, with investors showing optimism ahead of a meeting of European finance ministers in Brussels. The expectation around the summit in Brussels is that finance ministers will agree on the mechanism for the European Financial Stability Fund, the Eurozone's current bail-out fund, to leverage its resources, thereby increasing its firepower.

RANDGOLD SHINES AGAIN

Randgold Resources was the top performer on the blue chip index climbing its way back after yesterday's fall. On Monday, the firm cut its production forecast for the year after running into a number of difficulties at its Tongon mine in Côte d'Ivoire. The firm said that it now expects group production for the year to drop from between 740,000 and 760,000 ounces to between 690,000 to 700,000 ounces.

GKN was also higher after Moody's upgraded its outlook on the stock from stable to positive. According to financial website ThisisMoney.co.uk, GKN shares rose strongly yesterday on rumours that Singapore-based Quest Global Engineering was thinking of launching a bid for the company. G4S was on the up after HSBC upgraded the stock from neutral to overweight

Meanwhile, the banks were among the worst performers, with Lloyds, RBS, Standard Chartered and HSBC registering moderate losses. It was a similar story for miners, with Rio Tinto, Anglo American and Antofagasta all heading lower.

Airline IAG is also out of favour with investors, and is likely to have been affected by worries over US rival American Airlines, whose parent company AMR Corp has filed for bankruptcy protection. Thomas Cook took a tumble, falling over 12%.

FTSE 250 MOVERS: IG AND ENQUEST JUMP

Spread betting pioneer IG Group was also on the up after it saw a high level of client activity in the second quarter of its financial year, continuing the trend seen in the first. As a result, the group currently expects to achieve revenues in excess of £193.0m for the first half, compared to £156.7m in the corresponding period for the prior year, a 23% gain.

Shares in oil exploration firm Enquest roared higher after it upped production guidance after deciding to develop two new fields. Enquest said it would begin an $850m development of its Alma and Galia fields, subject to anticipated regulatory approvals.

BC

FTSE 100 - Risers
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 6,600.00p +5.77%
Man Group (EMG) 138.00p +4.31%
GKN (GKN) 184.50p +4.18%
Aggreko (AGK) 1,841.00p +3.66%
G4S (GFS) 246.80p +3.18%
ITV (ITV) 63.50p +2.75%
Inmarsat (ISAT) 423.00p +2.50%
Experian (EXPN) 817.50p +2.12%
Prudential (PRU) 610.50p +2.09%
Pearson (PSON) 1,127.00p +2.08%

FTSE 100 - Fallers
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 23.18p -2.09%
Kingfisher (KGF) 250.10p -1.15%
Glencore International (GLEN) 380.10p -1.12%
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 19.52p -1.11%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,084.00p -0.91%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,138.50p -0.81%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,331.50p -0.63%
Imperial Tobacco Group (IMT) 2,254.00p -0.53%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 486.55p -0.45%
Anglo American (AAL) 2,308.50p -0.35%

FTSE 250 - Risers
EnQuest (ENQ) 101.20p +11.21%
Premier Foods (PFD) 5.27p +10.95%
COLT Group SA (COLT) 94.50p +9.57%
IG Group Holdings (IGG) 474.00p +9.27%
Heritage Oil (HOIL) 179.90p +7.79%
Euromoney Institutional Investor (ERM) 677.00p +7.29%
Home Retail Group (HOME) 84.95p +6.86%
Renishaw (RSW) 882.00p +6.59%
Imagination Technologies Group (IMG) 463.00p +6.46%
Senior (SNR) 175.20p +6.31%

FTSE 250 - Fallers
Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 18.90p -13.02%
RIT Capital Partners (RCP) 1,260.00p -3.45%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 282.20p -3.19%
Go-Ahead Group (GOG) 1,190.00p -2.54%
JPMorgan Indian Inv Trust (JII) 332.00p -2.15%
Kenmare Resources (KMR) 33.41p -2.11%
Moneysupermarket.com Group (MONY) 102.00p -2.02%
Henderson Group (HGG) 109.40p -1.88%
Dignity (DTY) 789.00p -1.87%
Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group (JLT) 655.50p -1.58%

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Anglo American (AAL) share price
GKN (GKN) share price
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Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) share price
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) share price
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Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) share price
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