London open: Stocks open on the front foot as investors wade through earnings

The FTSE 100 opened in positive territory following the release of upbeat earnings and a report that showed growth in Chinese service activity.

Legal & General’s shares gained after the insurance company reported an 18% rise in first-half operating profit and a 6% increase in pre-tax profit, boosted by strong organic growth in the UK and US, as it raised its interim dividend despite a fall in annuities.

London Stock Exchange rallied after it almost doubled first-half revenues as most parts of the business performed well. Revenue rose 90% to £1.16bn, operating profits by 27% to £366.1m and the dividend was hiked 11% to 10.8p per share.

Ryanair flew higher after the budget carrier said traffic grew 11% to 10.1m customers in July from 9.15m in the same month a year earlier.

In economic data, the Caixin purchasing managers’ index on Chinese services rose to 53.8 in July from 51.8 the previous month. A reading above 50 indicates expansion while a level below that signals contraction.

At 0930 BST the UK will also see the release of service activity data from Markit/CIPS, which is forecast to reveal a reading of 58 in July, down from June’s 58.5.

Eurozone retail sales figures are due at 1000 and expected to show an increase of 2% in June compared to the same month last year.

Later on in the session, ISM publishes its index on the non-manufacturing composite. Analysts predict a reading of 56.2 in July, up from the prior month’s 56.

Sector-wise mining stocks recovered from losses earlier in the week, including Rio Tinto, Bhp Billiton and Anglo American. However, gold, silver and copper prices were lower in morning trade.

Meanwhile, investors will continue to closely watch the situation in Greece as the National Institute of Economic and Social Research warned the the country's economy will suffer fresh damage from austerity measures demanded by its creditors. The thinkthank said Greece will remain stuck in permanent depression unless it receives substantial debt relief. Athens has said it expected a bailout deal with lenders to conclude on 18 August.

Market Movers
techMARK 3,199.02 -0.01%
FTSE 100 6,703.02 +0.25%
FTSE 250 17,717.05 -0.10%

FTSE 100 - Risers
Legal & General Group (LGEN) 270.70p +2.77%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,190.00p +2.67%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 2,536.00p +2.65%
Glencore (GLEN) 204.25p +2.05%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) 2,623.00p +1.75%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 967.50p +1.56%
CRH (CRH) 1,965.00p +1.55%
Anglo American (AAL) 793.50p +1.15%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 580.50p +1.04%
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 342.50p +1.03%

FTSE 100 - Fallers
Travis Perkins (TPK) 2,173.00p -1.98%
Sports Direct International (SPD) 799.50p -1.48%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 814.00p -1.21%
Meggitt (MGGT) 496.10p -0.98%
Capita (CPI) 1,300.00p -0.91%
Associated British Foods (ABF) 3,214.00p -0.80%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 2,366.00p -0.80%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 942.50p -0.79%
Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,192.00p -0.67%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 1,260.00p -0.63%

FTSE 250 - Risers
AO World (AO.) 130.00p +2.44%
IP Group (IPO) 214.40p +2.34%
Evraz (EVR) 103.30p +2.08%
Ted Baker (TED) 3,243.00p +1.98%
Vesuvius (VSVS) 415.40p +1.91%
Lonmin (LMI) 45.74p +1.87%
Daejan Holdings (DJAN) 6,555.00p +1.63%
Cineworld Group (CINE) 521.50p +1.46%
Aberforth Smaller Companies Trust (ASL) 1,200.00p +1.44%
Clarkson (CKN) 2,765.00p +1.43%

FTSE 250 - Fallers
Spirax-Sarco Engineering (SPX) 3,269.00p -3.54%
Just Eat (JE.) 411.40p -2.74%
Countrywide (CWD) 501.00p -2.62%
BBA Aviation (BBA) 295.50p -1.83%
Hunting (HTG) 492.80p -1.64%
Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 116.70p -1.52%
Auto Trader Group (AUTO) 348.80p -1.47%
Morgan Advanced Materials (MGAM) 350.40p -1.32%
Saga (SAGA) 213.00p -1.30%
Euromoney Institutional Investor (ERM) 1,042.00p -1.14%

FTSE TechMARK - Risers
Filtronic (FTC) 9.50p +26.67%
Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 926.00p +1.20%
Oxford Biomedica (OXB) 8.80p +1.15%
E2V Technologies (E2V) 226.75p +0.89%
BATM Advanced Communications Ltd. (BVC) 17.14p +0.82%
KCOM Group (KCOM) 96.50p +0.78%
Consort Medical (CSRT) 926.00p +0.33%
Spirent Communications (SPT) 94.50p +0.27%

FTSE TechMARK - Fallers
Dialight (DIA) 550.00p -1.08%
Innovation Group (TIG) 32.25p -0.77%
Skyepharma (SKP) 277.50p -0.72%
SDL (SDL) 383.50p -0.65%
IShares Euro Gov Bond 7-10YR UCITS ETF (IEGM) € 201.16 -0.15%