London midday: Markets pull back ahead of key risk events

The FTSE 100 was trading firmly lower on Tuesday morning with profit-taking evident after a strong performance over the past week, as investors gear up for central-bank meetings and key US data later in the week. London's benchmark index jumped 1.5% yesterday as it continued to rebound strongly after hitting a five-month low of 6,029 last Monday on the back of concerns over a withdrawal of US stimulus and a Chinese slowdown. In the five trading sessions since, the index has risen over 4.0%, before pulling back slightly today."European indices are trading in the red across the board on Tuesday, as traders turn more risk averse ahead of what is going to be a volatile end to the week," said Market Analyst Craig Erlam from Alpari.Both the European Central Bank and Bank of England (BoE) are to reveal their latest policy decisions on Thursday afternoon with all eyes turning to Mark Carney as he heads up his first meeting as BoE Governor.Meanwhile, non-farm payrolls from the States are due out on Friday and are expected to reveal that 165,000 jobs were created in June, down slightly from 175,000 increase the month before. The US jobless rate is forecast to fall from 7.6% to 7.5%. Investors are waiting nervously given that an positive surprise could prompt the Federal Reserve to move more quickly to scale back its stimulus programme.UK construction PMI improves in JuneMarkets this morning were also digesting the UK construction purchasing managers' index (PMI) which edged higher from 50.8 to 51 in June, but missed the consensus estimate of 51.2 slightly. Nevertheless, analyst Blerina Uruci from Barclays said that the reading in June suggests that the gradual upward trend in construction activity over recent months is more broadly based than previously thought."Up until recently the improvement in the PMI was driven by housing construction alone, but the recent stabilisation in civil engineering and commercial activity put the sector on a more stable footing and suggests that this improvement is less likely to be erratic," she said.FTSE 100: Serco and Burberry gain after analysts' commentsOutsourcing group Serco was in demand today, helped by The Telegraph's Questor column which labelled the stock a 'buy' following Friday's trading update. The paper cited its strong international growth, dividend prospects and potential for more work in the public sector in the UK.British luxury brand Burberry was also a high riser this morning after HSBC lifted its rating for the group from 'neutral' to 'overweight' and hiked its target price from 1,530p to 1,750p.Mining stocks including Fresnillo, Randgold and BHP Billiton were doing well early on as they tracked metals price higher. Copper group Antofagasta also gained on the news that it is looking to invest in two hydroelectric power stations in Chile that will provide energy for its nearby project, Los Pelambres. UK housebuilder Persimmon however fell despite saying that revenues rose in the first half as it completed 7.0% more homes than the previous year at a higher average selling price. Jefferies said this morning's statement was "robust" but the stock's valuation appears "full" compared to other peers in the sector.FTSE 250: St Modwen impresses with resultsRegeneration specialist St Modwen Properties surged after upping its interim dividend by 10% following an 11% increase in pre-tax profit in the first half. The company hailed an "excellent start" to the year and said it is looks forward to a "successful outcome" for 2013 as a whole.Underlying revenue growth at home-shopping business N Brown accelerated strongly in the first quarter of its financial year with all of its core products contributing, causing shares to jump this morning.Consumer products group PZ Cussons also rose after announcing the acquisition of baby-foods group Rafferty's Garden for £42.2m.Online grocery firm Ocado was heading the other way after reporting that it swung to a pre-tax loss of £3.8m in the first half, compared with a profit of £0.2m the year before, as it pumped cash into its growing infrastructure. Underlying earnings however surged by nearly 29%.FTSE 100 - RisersSerco Group (SRP) 667.00p +6.72%Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,411.00p +3.37%Pearson (PSON) 1,193.00p +2.67%Antofagasta (ANTO) 847.00p +1.74%Fresnillo (FRES) 925.00p +1.70%London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) 1,391.00p +1.09%British Sky Broadcasting Group (BSY) 809.50p +1.06%Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,355.00p +0.89%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 4,216.00p +0.79%BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,727.00p +0.73%FTSE 100 - FallersAberdeen Asset Management (ADN) 380.20p -2.91%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 275.10p -2.41%TUI Travel (TT.) 356.60p -2.27%Travis Perkins (TPK) 1,497.00p -2.22%Persimmon (PSN) 1,213.00p -2.18%easyJet (EZJ) 1,318.00p -2.15%G4S (GFS) 224.00p -1.88%Tullow Oil (TLW) 1,030.00p -1.81%International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 265.80p -1.66%Diageo (DGE) 1,904.50p -1.50%FTSE 250 - RisersAfrican Barrick Gold (ABG) 108.30p +8.30%Evraz (EVR) 108.90p +6.76%Hochschild Mining (HOC) 164.10p +5.19%Polymetal International (POLY) 509.00p +4.91%PZ Cussons (PZC) 369.10p +3.97%St. Modwen Properties (SMP) 285.00p +3.64%Workspace Group (WKP) 397.80p +3.32%Berendsen (BRSN) 790.00p +3.27%IP Group (IPO) 134.90p +2.27%St James's Place (STJ) 560.00p +2.10%FTSE 250 - FallersSpirent Communications (SPT) 136.00p -3.82%Ashmore Group (ASHM) 328.20p -3.70%Inmarsat (ISAT) 669.50p -3.67%Balfour Beatty (BBY) 222.10p -3.43%Imagination Technologies Group (IMG) 284.90p -3.03%BBA Aviation (BBA) 282.30p -2.99%Ocado Group (OCDO) 303.50p -2.79%Inchcape (INCH) 501.50p -2.53%Investec (INVP) 421.20p -2.34%Renishaw (RSW) 1,554.00p -2.33%