London close: Stocks edge higher despite mixed earnings, data

LONDON (ShareCast) - UK stocks managed to erase earlier losses to settle in positive territory on Thursday as investors picked up bargains following heavy losses over the last two sessions. The FTSE 100 finished 0.21% higher at 6,960.63, bouncing back after hitting a low of 6,906.24 early on amid a mixed batch of corporate earnings and global economic data. Markets have fallen sharply since setting a new all-time closing high of 7,103.98 on Monday, retreating to 6,946.28 as of Wednesday's close - its lowest finish since 8 April.

"Ahead of a long weekend for Europe equity markets look to have run out of steam," said IG (LSE: IGG.L - news) analyst Alastair McCaig. Most equity markets across Europe will closed on Friday for May Day, though UK markets will be open.

"The fact the Eurozone has seen out this short week with inflation managing to hold its ground will have sent traders off on a more optimistic mindset," McCaig said.

Eurozone consumer prices registered zero growth in April compared to a year ago, as expected by analysts. This was an improvement from the 0.1% annual decline seen in March.

Not all economic data met forecasts though, with Eurozone unemployment remaining steady at 11.3% (estimate: 11.2%), US personal spending rising 0.4% (estimate: +0.5%) and US personal income staying flat (forecast: +0.2%).

Nevertheless, developments in Greece may have buoyed sentiment as officials continue to debate with lenders. Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis signalled that his government could make concessions on key demands with creditors in summer after an initial deal to unlock bailout funds is reached.

Wednesday's Federal Reserve policy statement was still in focus after officials issued a cautiously optimistic outlook on the economy, saying that the current economic slowdown is only temporary. This followed data showing that annualised US gross domestic product growth slowed to just 0.2% in the first quarter from 2.2% previously.

Alpari analyst Craig Erlam said the comments "may have been more hawkish than some were expecting". He said: "That would suggest they have not been deterred from raising rates this year as some may have hoped." IAG, RBS (LSE: RBS.L - news) and Schroders (LSE: SDR.L - news) fall, Shell (LSE: RDSB.L - news) gains Airline conglomerate IAG underwhelmed despite making its first-ever profit in the first quarter. The company beat expectations with an operating profit of €25m, compared with a €150m loss the year before.

Royal Bank of Scotland made a £446m loss in the first quarter of the year, more than double what had been feared as it was hit by £453m of restructuring costs and set aside £856m for litigation and conduct charges.

Financial services giant Schroders also fell as profits for the first quarter missed forecasts. The company did however beat estimates with a 6.5% increase in assets under management to £319.5bn.

Royal Dutch Shell (Xetra: R6C1.DE - news) revealed a 56% drop in first-quarter earnings to $3.25bn but that wasn't as bad as the $2.5bn expected, helping the stock higher. Shell also shaved its capital investment budget for 2015 by $2bn to "$33bn or less".

Medical services group Smith & Nephew (LSE: SN.L - news) edged higher as it reported a slight increase in first quarter revenue and reiterated its expectations for 2015.

Shire (Xetra: S7E.DE - news) jumped into the green after earnings in the first quarter surged 20% as the drug company overcame a sharp drop in its Intuniv attention deficit disorder drug and dollar headwinds.

Shares (Berlin: DI6.BE - news) in RPS Group (LSE: RPS.L - news) dropped sharply after the industrial consultancy outfit said the continuing volatility in the oil and gas sector meant its energy business had a slower-than-expected start to the year.

Zoopla , the residential property website group, soared after agreeing to acquire utility price comparison site uSwitch for up to £190m.

A number of stocks were trading lower after going ex-dividend, including Centrica (LSE: CNA.L - news) , Fresnillo (Other OTC: FNLPF - news) , ITV (LSE: ITV.L - news) , Reed Elsevier (LSE: REL.L - news) and Travis Perkins (LSE: TPK.L - news) .

Market Movers techMARK 3,186.56 -0.02% FTSE 100 6,960.63 +0.21% FTSE 250 17,474.63 -0.04% FTSE 100 - Risers Royal Mail (LSE: RMG.L - news) (RMG) 467.70p +5.29% Weir Group (WEIR) 1,880.00p +2.40% Sports Direct International (LSE: SPD.L - news) (SPD) 619.00p +2.40% Associated British Foods (LSE: ABF.L - news) (ABF) 2,857.00p +2.36% Capita (CPI (Other OTC: CPICQ - news) ) 1,144.00p +2.23% Aberdeen Asset Management (Other OTC: ABDNF - news) (ADN) 475.10p +1.93% St James's Place (STJ) 892.50p +1.65% Standard Life (LSE: SL.L - news) (SL.) 467.90p +1.61% Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 1,046.00p +1.55% TUI AG Reg Shs (DI (KSE: 003160.KS - news) ) (TUI (LSE: TUI.L - news) ) 1,223.00p +1.49% FTSE 100 - Fallers Centrica (CNA) 255.40p -4.56% ITV (ITV) 253.60p -3.76% Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 338.50p -3.15% Anglo American (LSE: AAL.L - news) (AAL) 1,105.00p -2.94% Fresnillo (FRES) 719.50p -2.64% Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 4,964.00p -2.57% International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 545.00p -2.50% Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 186.80p -1.99% InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 2,804.00p -1.41% Glencore (GLEN) 310.25p -1.13% FTSE 250 - Risers Zoopla Property Group (WI) (ZPLA) 215.00p +16.22% NMC Health (LSE: NMC.L - news) (NMC (Other OTC: NMCX - news) ) 762.00p +7.25% Bwin.party Digital Entertainment (BPTY) 83.65p +4.11% COLT Group SA (COLT) 149.00p +3.62% Regus (Stuttgart: RGV.SG - news) (RGU) 249.50p +3.48% UBM (UBM (LSE: UBM.L - news) ) 564.50p +3.10% TalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) 365.70p +3.04% Greggs (GRG) 1,189.00p +2.94% Rightmove (RMV) 3,165.00p +2.59% Bellway (BWY) 1,992.00p +2.57% FTSE 250 - Fallers Ophir Energy (Other OTC: OPGYF - news) (OPHR) 142.00p -12.29% Fisher (James) & Sons (FSJ) 1,156.00p -11.28% RPS Group (RPS) 213.00p -9.78% Man Group (LSE: EMG.L - news) (EMG) 192.80p -5.68% Berendsen (BRSN) 1,038.00p -4.68% Card Factory (LSE: CARD.L - news) (CARD) 317.00p -3.97% PayPoint (PAY) 852.00p -3.78% Fidessa Group (LSE: FDSA.L - news) (FDSA) 2,234.00p -3.29% Booker Group (LSE: BOK.L - news) (BOK) 144.80p -2.82% Acacia Mining (LSE: ACA.L - news) (ACA) 288.90p -2.60%