Mining stocks lift FTSE
Britain’s top share index rose on Wednesday, boosted by mining and banks stocks that rose on strong China export data.
|||London - Britain's top share index rose on Wednesday, boosted by mining and banks stocks that rose on strong China export data that helped to subdue concerns over the growth outlook for the world's second-largest economy.
China's exports in March returned to growth for the first time in nine months, adding to signs of economic stabilisation in the world's largest consumer of many commodities, including metals such as copper.
That lifted metals prices and mining stocks, with the sector up 4.8 percent. Oil and gas shares also rallied, with Brent crude remaining over $44 even as it fell from recent highs.
“Commodities remain very much in focus - we've seen base metals soaring in the last few hours helped by upbeat Chinese import data,” said Tony Cross, market analyst at Trustnet Direct.
BHP Billiton rose 6.2 percent, also helped by plans to cut jobs at a copper mine in Chile.
Asia-exposed banks Standard Chartered and HSBC rose 5.6 percent and 4.1 percent respectively.
Britain's FTSE 100 rose 80.39 points, or 1.3 percent, to 6,322.78 by 08h07 GMT, with financial firms, miners and energy stocks combining to add over 60 points to the index's rise.
Among fallers, Tesco fell 3.7 percent after its full-year results.
Although Britain's biggest retailer reported its first quarterly sales growth for three years and slightly beat expectations, it was cautious on its near-term outlook and said a price war in the sector would put pressure on profits.
“Its outlook disappointed investors as the growing spectre posed by discounters Aldi and Lidl remains,” said Russ Mould, Investment Director at AJ Bell.
Outside of the blue chips, Premier Foods dropped nearly 30 percent after US spice maker McCormick walked away from its takeover proposal for the British food firm.
Despite the slump, Premier Foods remains up by 33 percent since March 23, when McCormick had an initial bid rejected.
REUTERS