Headline shares added to early gains in midday trade, as investors put a positive spin on news that GDP ticked up 0.2% in the last quarter, with cruise operator Carnival (LON:CCL) keeping leading the gainers.

At high noon, the FTSE100 was up 42.87 points at 5,708.2 with the FTSE250 ahead 134.2 points at 10,569.8 and the FTSE Smallcaps 15.75 points better at 2,941.68. US stock futures rose on hopes the problems in Greece are closer to Resolution (LON:RSL) after it formally approached the EU and IMF for assistance.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 25 points at 11,093, S&P500 futures rose 3 points to 1,205.3 and Nasdaq 100 futures added 4.25 points at 2,040.5.

LONDON MARKETS

The UK economy grew by 0.2% in the quarter to March 2010, less than forecast, but at least showing that a recovery is still progressing, albeit at a slower rate than anticipated.

Banking shares made modest progress, with Royal Bank Of Scotland Group Plc (LON:RBS) the best of them, up 1.45p at 55.3p on being raised to overweight from equal-weight at Barclays (LON:BARC) Capital. Lloyds edged up 1.49p at 67.97p and Barclays (LON:BARC) added 1.6p at 361.3p.

Retailers were in demand, with supermarket giant Tesco (LON:TSCO) adding 8.8p at 452.1p and peers Morrisons and Sainsbury gaining 3.8p at 300.6p and 4.3p at 349.6p, while Marks & Spencer Group (LON:MKS) ticked up 4.1p at 375.7p.

Primark owner AB Foods jumped 18p at 1,038p and fashion house Next (LON:NXT) gained 37p at 2,333p.

Firming precious metals prices gave gold and silver and platinum miners a boost, with Lonmin (LON:LMI) the sector leader, up 43p at 1,972p, Fresnillo (LON:FRES) ahead 16.5p at 832.5p and Randgold Resources (LON:RRS) 80p higher at 5,160p. Platinum processor Johnson Matthey (LON:JMAT) gained 38p at 1,772p.

Carnival (LON:CCL) cruised to the top of the leaderboard, ahead 126p at 2,817p, while tour operators were also positive as flight schedules got back to normal. Tui Travel Plc (LON:TT.) eased up 3.5p at 287.3p and Thomas Cook Group Plc (LON:TCG) gained 4.1p at 260.3p.

British Airways (LON:BAY) improved 6.7p at 232.2p and no-frills rival Easyjet (LON:EZJ) climbed 10p at 497.9p.

On the downside with blue chips, ARM Holdings sank to the foot of…

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