Sentiment was also boosted by the news that the Dow Jones had pushed above the 16,000 mark for the first time ever, along with in-line German GDP.

More relevant even, and if reports are to be believed, the Doha round of trade talks are reportedly set to deliver the first global free trade agreement in decades.

It is being widely reported that Paul Flowers, the former chairman of the Co-op Bank, has been arrested in connection with recent allegations he purchased and used illegal drugs.

Also of interest, Ofgem has reportedly told a number of UK energy providers that they must take bigger measures to cut consumer bills.

Serco has waved goodbye to its head of domestic business in an effort improve its relationship with the UK government, its largest customer.

Jobless claims drop below expectations

Jobless claims fell to their lowest level since September, down by 21,000 to a seasonally adjusted 323,000 for the week ended November 16th. The consensus estimate had been for a print of 335,000.

The previous week’s reading was revised higher to show 344,000 unemployment claims, instead of the preliminary estimate of 339,000. The four-week moving average decreased by a hefty 6,750 to 338,500.

German GDP comes in as expected

Gross domestic product (GDP) in Europe’s biggest economy increased 0.6% in the third quarter, at the same rate of growth as the previous period, driven by domestic demand in construction and investment which offset a slump in exports.

Light day for company news

Just two FTSE 350 companies made announcements this morning, the biggest of which was Tullow Oil, which reported a fifth oil discovery onshore northern Kenya. The Agete-1 exploration well, in which Tullow has a 50% interest, has an estimated 100 metres of net oil pay in good quality sandstone reservoirs. The group also reported that elsewhere in Kenya, exploration and appraisal activities continued to accelerate with the Amosing-1 well expected to commence drilling before the end of November.

Meanwhile, Essar Energy revealed it is one step closer to its FTSE inclusion after major shareholder Essar Gold Fund Limited (EGFL) said it intends to ensure it meets all the free float requirements with a 25% private sale of its shares in the company. “EGFL believes that the shares of Essar Energy represent exceptional value and will therefore only sell such minimum number of its shares in the company to enable Essar Energy plc to meet the minimum free float requirement,” EGFL said.

Whitbread has been raised to overweight from neutral at JP Morgan, while Morrison has been re-instated at buy over at Bank of America.

FTSE 100 – Risers

Whitbread (WTB) 3,496.00p +3.37%
ARM Holdings (ARM) 986.50p +2.33%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 905.50p +2.32%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 3,465.00p +1.90%
William Hill (WMH) 371.10p +1.64%
WPP (WPP) 1,370.00p +1.63%
ITV (ITV) 184.60p +1.54%
Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 3,256.00p +1.43%
Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 1,200.00p +1.35%
Travis Perkins (TPK) 1,793.00p +1.24%

FTSE 100 – Fallers

TUI Travel (TT.) 368.50p -5.34%
Fresnillo (FRES) 849.50p -1.62%
Aberdeen Asset Management (ADN) 479.50p -1.54%
Anglo American (AAL) 1,377.00p -0.54%
Rexam (REX) 484.40p -0.51%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 4,343.00p -0.50%
Severn Trent (SVT) 1,812.00p -0.44%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 690.90p -0.42%
Old Mutual (OML) 197.40p -0.40%
Legal & General Group (LGEN) 213.50p -0.33%

Source: ShareCast