Updates from BAE Systems, Ladbrokes and Smith & Nephew

A +1.38% jump for the FTSE 100 yesterday. It finished Wednesday at 5,712 points. Better numbers from Next saw the clothes retailer rise +6.46% - the Board's biggest climber.

Slightly improved earnings saw the Nikkei inch up +0.1% overnight but the Hang Seng and Shanghai Composite Index saw falls ahead of lending news from the ECB.