The Footsie opened in positive territory, rising well above the 5,700 level, after better-than-expected Chinese data and rumours of progress in Greece lifting the mood early on. European markets have opened strongly as investors await Eurozone manufacturing data later this morning.

The HSBC China manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) for the month of January has come in at 48.8, in line with preliminary estimates. However, the official PMI data also published today has come in a tad ahead of expectations, with the headline index at 50.5, up from 50.3 in December and above expectations of 49.6.

Meanwhile in Greece, there are rumours of a so-called gross domestic product warrant, which would pay private creditors more if Greece's economy begins to expand, easing the loss that they are taking on the country's debt. According to Bloomberg, the government and bondholders are near a "tentative accord" that would include the warrants.

ICAP SURGES AFTER RAISING GUIDANCE

Inter-dealer broker ICAP rose strongly early on after saying profits for the current fiscal year will be towards the top end of expectations. The current range of analyst pre-tax profit forecasts for the year to March 31st runs from £336m to £358m, with a median figure of £347.4m.

Johnson Matthey, the chemicals company, was also in demand after seeing sales (excluding precious metal sales) rise by 22% between October and December last year.

With oil prices on the rise, explorers and producers were providing a lift in London, with BP and BG in demand. Banks were also on the up, with Barclays, RBS and Lloyds in the blue. Lloyds has announced this morning a mass shake-up to its board of directors and management team to "ensure we have the right organisational structure to deliver on our strategy and move to the next phase of the group's transformation," said the group's Chief Executive, António Horta-Osório.

Imperial Tobacco was performing well despite seeing reported stick equivalent volumes fall 7% in the three months to December 31st, due to the trading difficulties in Syria, Spain, USA and Ukraine.

Water utility company United Utilities is on track to deliver full year results in line with expectations on the back of a steadily rising revenue. Shares nudged higher.

Miners giant Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton were higher after doing a spot of trading that will see Rio gain majority control of South African miner Richards Bay Minerals.

Antofagasta, however, underwhelmed investors after seeing full-year production rise 22.9% to surpass its earlier guidance after a strong end to the year. Shares dipped into the red.


FTSE 100 - Risers
ICAP (IAP) 360.10p +7.17%
Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 2,116.00p +3.17%
BP (BP.) 484.95p +2.99%
Man Group (EMG) 118.80p +2.68%
Barclays (BARC) 217.55p +2.35%
Weir Group (WEIR) 2,000.00p +2.30%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 752.00p +2.24%
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 27.16p +2.03%
Essar Energy (ESSR) 131.70p +1.93%
Schroders (SDR) 1,477.00p +1.86%

FTSE 100 - Fallers
ARM Holdings (ARM) 600.00p -1.56%
GKN (GKN) 208.30p -0.62%
Shire Plc (SHP) 2,096.00p -0.47%
Aggreko (AGK) 2,087.00p -0.38%
British Sky Broadcasting Group (BSY) 687.50p -0.36%
Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 1,450.00p -0.34%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,289.00p -0.31%
Kazakhmys (KAZ) 1,133.00p -0.26%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 613.50p -0.24%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 3,050.00p -0.15%

FTSE 250 - Risers
Tullett Prebon (TLPR) 309.50p +3.93%
Allied Gold Mining (ALD) 137.00p +3.32%
Regus (RGU) 94.95p +3.21%
RPS Group (RPS) 215.00p +3.12%
Big Yellow Group (BYG) 287.70p +2.82%
Scottish Inv Trust (SCIN) 467.00p +2.61%
Kesa Electricals (KESA) 69.10p +2.52%
Spirent Communications (SPT) 121.60p +2.36%
ITE Group (ITE) 208.90p +2.05%
Halfords Group (HFD) 325.50p +2.04%

FTSE 250 - Fallers
Aquarius Platinum Ltd. (AQP) 163.00p -4.40%
Aberforth Smaller Companies Trust (ASL) 569.50p -2.15%
Northgate (NTG) 222.00p -2.07%
Carpetright (CPR) 539.50p -1.91%
COLT Group SA (COLT) 90.25p -1.90%
Galliford Try (GFRD) 467.50p -1.89%
Brewin Dolphin Holdings (BRW) 148.40p -1.72%
Fidelity China Special Situations (FCSS) 79.55p -1.36%
Hansteen Holdings (HSTN) 72.45p -1.29%
Perform Group (PER) 242.00p -1.22%

Related share prices
Barclays (BARC) share price
BG Group (BG.) share price
BHP Billiton (BLT) share price
BP (BP.) share price
Imperial Tobacco Group (IMT) share price
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) share price
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) share price
Rio Tinto (RIO) share price
United Utilities Group (UU.) share price
Johnson Matthey (JMAT) share price
Antofagasta (ANTO) share price
ICAP (IAP) share price