- Chinese export data beats forecasts
- Eyes on Greece and Spain
- Hargreaves Lansdown extends gains.

Better-than-expected Chinese export data and hopes for the Eurozone were lifting stocks on Monday morning, with the Footsie up 0.5 per cent by lunchtime.

Chinese exports increased at an annual rate of 9.9% in September, well ahead of the prior month's 2.7% rise and better than the consensus estimate of a 5.5% gain. Imports, up 2.4% year-on-year, were in line with expectations.

Meanwhile, market analyst Craig Erlam from Alpari said that this could be a "game-changing week" for the Eurozone ahead of the EU Summit on Thursday. Greece is expected to agree on €13.5bn of spending cuts in order to access the third tranche of the bailout.

Erlam said: "A Spanish bailout has been in the pipeline for weeks now, since Mario Draghi announced the ECB's new bond buying program. Spain have resisted asking for aid until now, potentially allowing them time to take the initiative with the cuts to avoid the humiliation Greece have had to endure."

FTSE 100: Hargreaves continues to rise


Financial services provider Hargreaves Lansdown continues to make gains following Friday's interim results, in which it reported record levels of revenue, assets under administration and client numbers in the second quarter. The stock has steadily risen over the past half year: shares were trading around the 730p mark this morning, up from the 500p level seen six months ago.

Babcock, the engineering support services firm, was also making headway after Bank of America Merrill Lynch hiked its target price on the stock by over 20% from 870p to 1,050p. However, the broker maintained its 'neutral' rating.

Shares in Anglo American, Evraz, Kazakhmys and Rio Tinto were being weighed down this morning after Goldman Sachs lowered its views on the mining stocks.

Heading the other way was sweeteners and food products group Tate & Lyle after Jefferies upgraded the stock from 'hold' to 'buy' and hiked its target price from 690p to 800p. The broker said this morning that the company has laid a strong foundation for a sustainable growth profile and it sees the current valuation as a "compelling buying opportunity".

Part-nationalised lender Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) fell after confirming that Spanish banking giant Santander is going back on its agreement to purchase 316 RBS branches in the UK.

Irish oil titan Tullow Oil gained after saying that it is to take a stake in Block 9 (Tooq licence), Baffin Bay, north-western Greenland, which is operated by Maersk Oil.

FTSE 250: SDL sinks on third-quarter tech slowdown


Information management firm SDL fell after saying that first-half trends had continued into the third quarter: services sales are strong but technology revenues continue to be "suppressed".

Investec downgraded the stock from 'buy' to 'hold' today, saying: "We continue to see SDL as an appealing investment proposition due to its position of strength in multiple growth markets. However to justify a premium rating we believe the company will need to deliver on its growth potential within the technology business as well as the services business."

Nickel and zinc miner Talvivaara was unwanted after saying that heavy rainfall in the third quarter is proving a major obstacle in its aim of mining 17,000 tonnes of nickel this year.

Rentokil Initial gained after the Sunday Telegraph said that the firm is working to spin-off its loss-making City Link business by the end of the year.

Foam products supplier Filtrona was in demand after firing on all cylinders in the third quarter with like-for-like sales up by one-tenth year-on-year.



FTSE 100 - Risers
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 730.00p +2.53%
Kingfisher (KGF) 273.80p +1.97%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,455.00p +1.93%
Bunzl (BNZL) 1,114.00p +1.83%
British Land Co (BLND) 531.50p +1.82%
Whitbread (WTB) 2,390.00p +1.75%
ITV (ITV) 91.10p +1.73%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 978.00p +1.66%
Capita (CPI) 747.00p +1.49%
Land Securities Group (LAND) 796.00p +1.47%

FTSE 100 - Fallers
Kazakhmys (KAZ) 697.50p -2.52%
Anglo American (AAL) 1,797.00p -1.51%
Evraz (EVR) 231.20p -1.32%
Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 325.00p -1.19%
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 267.90p -1.11%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 2,990.50p -1.04%
Tesco (TSCO) 308.35p -0.53%
Vedanta Resources (VED) 1,080.00p -0.46%
ARM Holdings (ARM) 576.00p -0.43%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 174.30p -0.29%

FTSE 250 - Risers
Filtrona PLC (FLTR) 531.50p +4.22%
Brown (N.) Group (BWNG) 275.00p +3.00%
Savills (SVS) 404.40p +2.95%
Kenmare Resources (KMR) 37.59p +2.85%
Capital & Counties Properties (CAPC) 230.80p +2.81%
Bovis Homes Group (BVS) 508.50p +2.79%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 770.00p +2.74%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 742.00p +2.70%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 87.50p +2.70%
Kentz Corporation Ltd. (KENZ) 419.80p +2.64%

FTSE 250 - Fallers
SDL (SDL) 545.50p -14.77%
Bumi (BUMI) 244.10p -12.82%
Talvivaara Mining Company (TALV) 136.80p -6.43%
Domino Printing Sciences (DNO) 554.50p -3.06%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 64.50p -2.93%
Petropavlovsk (POG) 421.90p -2.83%
Morgan Crucible Co (MGCR) 221.90p -2.38%
Investec (INVP) 361.10p -2.35%
Chemring Group (CHG) 334.90p -2.28%
FirstGroup (FGP) 186.50p -2.20%

BC

Related share prices
Anglo American (AAL) share price
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) share price
Rio Tinto (RIO) share price
Rentokil Initial (RTO) share price
Tate & Lyle (TATE) share price
Babcock International Group (BAB) share price
Tullow Oil (TLW) share price
SDL (SDL) share price
Kazakhmys (KAZ) share price
Filtrona PLC (FLTR) share price
Talvivaara Mining Company (CDI) (TALV) share price
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) share price
Evraz (EVR) share price