London open: Stocks rise as Powell strikes dovish note; Intu deal collapses

At 0830 GMT, the FTSE 100 was up 0.5% to 7,037.59, while the pound was flat against the dollar at 1.2827 and 0.2% lower versus the euro at 1.1260.

The Dow surged more than 600 points on Wednesday after Powell said US interest rates were "just below" neutral levels barely two months after saying they were "a long way" from neutral, leading US equity markets to their best session since March.

Neil Wilson, chief market analyst at Markets.com, said: "Powell’s statement on the neutral rate was taken as a dovish assertion by markets and in many ways you could say the Fed chair just turned Santa for equity investors.

"If a December pop for equities, or Santa Rally, were going to occur then a more easy Fed will do it. The softer language from the Fed will be heard loud and clear by equity markets as a sign it's aware of the risks of tightening too quickly. Trade will continue to act as an anchor on bullishness ahead of the G20 meeting - but in many ways the more trade and tariffs weigh on growth the looser the Fed will remain. In some ways we are back to the bad-news-is-good-news play for equities."

There was also some good news for UK banks as the Bank of England stress tests, released after the previous day's close, revealed that they are strong enough to survive a disorderly Brexit, the outcome of which the BoE said could leave the country worse off than in the 2008 financial crisis. None of the high street lenders were told to raise billions of pounds in capital to strengthen their finances.

Miners were the standout gainers as copper prices edged up, with Glencore, Antofagasta and Rio Tinto all firmer.

Rio was also in focus after giving the green light for its $2.6bn (£2.03bn) Koodaideri iron ore mine in Western Australia.

Unilever ticked up as it said chief executive Paul Polman will step down from the role at the end of next month and be replaced by the group's beauty & personal care boss, Alan Jope.

Britvic fizzed higher as the drinks maker posted a rise in full-year profit and revenue despite a "challenging" environment, as its move towards lower sugar drinks paid off.

Car auctioneer BCA Marketplace was in the green as it reported a jump in interim pre-tax profit and revenue on the back of higher volumes and higher average vehicle prices, while Greene King racked up solid gains as the pub operator posted a 3.2% increase in first-half pre-tax profit.

Tullow Oil rose after saying it will go back to paying dividends, which were suspended in 2015, following "excellent" operational and financial progress over the past 18 months.

Train and bus operator Go-Ahead advanced as management signalled better revenues since the start of the financial year.

Ashtead was on the front foot as it promoted the boss of its US business to the role of chief executive as Geoff Drabble steps down after 12 years in charge.

On the downside, Intu Properties tumbled more than 36% after a consortium led by its deputy chairman John Whittaker pulled its takeover offer for the shopping centre owner citing economic uncertainties.

Broker Liberum said: "Their decision to walk away leaves Intu in a challenging position with its highly valued shopping centres facing cyclical and structural pressure, above average financial leverage, a departing CEO, and two recently failed bid processes which will have inevitably been disruptive to the business."

Thomas Cook - which issued a profit warning earlier in the week - fell as the tour operator confirmed it swung to a full-year loss despite rising sales.

In broker note action, British American Tobacco was upgraded to 'sector perform' at RBC Capital Markets, while Cobham was lifted to 'buy' at Berenberg. Senior was hit by a downgrade to 'neutral' at JPMorgan.

International Consolidated Airlines, Johnson Matthey, Land Securities, Severn Trent, Bellway, Caledonia Investments, Diploma, Electrocomponents, Euromoney Institutional Investor, Hill & Smith, JD Sports, Renewi, TalkTalk and Telecom Plus were among the companies whose stock went ex-dividend.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,037.59 0.47%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 18,687.25 0.25%
techMARK (TASX) 3,490.40 0.50%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Evraz (EVR) 472.80p 3.48%
Fresnillo (FRES) 784.20p 3.32%
Mondi (MNDI) 1,756.50p 2.81%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 185.00p 2.78%
Glencore (GLEN) 294.20p 2.74%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 827.00p 2.55%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 6,430.00p 2.45%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,647.50p 2.29%
CRH (CRH) 2,196.56p 2.21%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 1,765.50p 2.20%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Land Securities Group (LAND) 848.20p -3.11%
British Land Company (BLND) 594.80p -1.69%
Severn Trent (SVT) 1,919.50p -1.56%
Shire Plc (SHP) 4,451.00p -0.91%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 664.90p -0.69%
SEGRO (SGRO) 616.20p -0.55%
National Grid (NG.) 832.80p -0.53%
BP (BP.) 521.40p -0.42%
Centrica (CNA) 133.45p -0.41%
Imperial Brands (IMB) 2,425.75p -0.28%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Britvic (BVIC) 819.50p 4.73%
Greene King (GNK) 530.40p 4.49%
Cobham (COB) 104.10p 3.43%
Mediclinic International (MDC) 360.30p 3.15%
AA (AA.) 95.44p 2.62%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 158.45p 2.62%
BCA Marketplace (BCA) 226.50p 2.49%
Phoenix Group Holdings (DI) (PHNX) 615.00p 2.33%
Investec (INVP) 496.70p 2.16%
Go-Ahead Group (GOG) 1,583.25p 2.08%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Intu Properties (INTU) 122.47p -36.41%
Senior (SNR) 225.40p -9.11%
Hammerson (HMSO) 394.60p -6.27%
Amigo Holdings (AMGO) 260.00p -5.40%
Contour Global (GLO) 189.90p -4.09%
Bellway (BWY) 2,668.00p -2.84%
NewRiver REIT (NRR) 227.65p -2.71%
SIG (SHI) 111.30p -1.85%
Marshalls (MSLH) 429.80p -1.65%
Capital & Counties Properties (CAPC) 262.50p -1.54%