The FTSE 100 was trading 0.6% higher at 6,493 in morning trade.

With the exception Japan’s Nikkei index, Asian markets weaker overnight after the HSBC China non-manufacturing purchasing managers’ index fell from 53.5 to 52.9 in October, showing that growth in the country’s services sector eased for the second month in a row.

“Coming following a poor manufacturing PMI release over the weekend, this further compounds the view that China is struggling to move forward in a convincing way following a slowdown earlier this year,” said analyst Joshua Mahony from Alpari UK.

Nevertheless, stocks in Tokyo advanced after Bank of Japan governor Haruhiko Kuroda struck a dovish tone in the aftermath of last week’s unexpected stimulus boost announcement. He said the central bank is ready to do more to hit inflation targets with “no limits to our policy tools”.

Wednesday is set to be a data-heavy session for western markets, with services PMIs due out across the Eurozone, the UK and US. However, the ADP employment report Stateside will likely garner the most attention as investors ready themselves for the official non-farm payrolls figure on Friday. As for the ADP report, analysts expect private-sector payrolls to have increased by 220,000 in October after a 213,000 gain in September.

Markets will also be looking ahead to monetary policy decisions from the Bank of England and European Central Bank on tap for Thursday.

M&S and Meggitt jump early on

High street bellwether M&S surged 8 per cent in early deals after beating analysts’ forecasts with its half-year report. Although the market was expecting a fall in profits in the face of the cut-throat retail market, better general retail margins and cost-cutting helped underlying profit before tax rise 2.3 per cent to £267.6m, while the company unexpectedly lifted its dividend.

Meggitt was also in demand, rising 6% despite warning of a slowdown in the fourth quarter. The aerospace, defence and energy engineer said that organic revenues grew 5 per cent in the third quarter, compared with a 3 per cent decline in the first half.

Exploration firm Tullow Oil rebounded strongly after a steep drop on Tuesday as stocks in the sector tanked on the back of a slumping crude price. US crude oil is continuing to trade at three-year lows.

Primark owner and food ingredients firm Associated British Foods was heading higher after Citigroup upgraded the stock to ‘buy’, while Rolls-Royce fell after Panmure Gordon cut its recommendation for the engine maker to ‘sell’.

Mining stocks were mostly lower after the disappointing data from China. Randgold, Fresnillo, BHP Billiton, Anglo American and Glencore were all registering losses.

There were some heavy fallers on the FTSE 250 on Wednesday, led by Stock Spirits which dropped nearly 18% after warning that full-year profits could be €5m-10m below expectations following a “very tough trading period” in the third quarter for the Central European spirits producer.

Centamin disappointed as it lowered annual production forecasts for its flagship Sukari gold mine in Egypt after plant productivity suffered a slowdown in October. The stock was down 12 per cent.

Insurance firm Esure was also 5 per cent lower after saying that it now expects its full-year combined operating ratio to rise. The company said that it has seen an increase in small bodily injury claims frequency, while premiums for motor insurance continue to fall.

Market Movers

techMARK 2,779.81 +0.97%
FTSE 100 6,493.18 +0.61%
FTSE 250 15,492.12 +0.64%

FTSE 100 – Risers
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 438.10p +8.25%
Meggitt (MGGT) 467.90p +6.34%
Associated British Foods (ABF) 2,888.00p +3.77%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 474.20p +3.56%
Travis Perkins (TPK) 1,647.00p +2.04%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 207.45p +1.92%
CRH (CRH) 1,393.00p +1.75%
SABMiller (SAB) 3,535.50p +1.73%
Standard Life (SL.) 391.80p +1.66%
Aggreko (AGK) 1,479.00p +1.65%

FTSE 100 – Fallers
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 3,701.00p -2.73%
Kingfisher (KGF) 286.60p -2.28%
Fresnillo (FRES) 687.00p -1.51%
Admiral Group (ADM) 1,324.00p -0.90%
Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 1,040.00p -0.86%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,599.50p -0.68%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 939.50p -0.63%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 843.00p -0.59%
Anglo American (AAL) 1,318.50p -0.53%
Glencore (GLEN) 309.30p -0.42%