London close: Equities boosted by mining shares, oil price rally

UK stocks finished higher on Monday, led by mining stocks as commodity prices gained.

Miners Anglo American, Antofagasta and Fresnillo led the charge on the FTSE 100, boosted by an increase in metal prices.

At the same time oil prices jumped after Goldman Sachs said the market had finished almost two years of oversupply and moved to a deficit following global production disruptions.

Brent crude rose 2.1% to $48.90 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate increased 2.4% to $47.60 per barrel at 1617 BST.

In economic data, investors continued to digest the weekend’s worse-than-expected Chinese data which had sent UK stocks lower earlier on Monday.

Economic reports were thin on the ground on Monday, with the only releases including the Empire Manufacturing index and housing market data from the National Association of Home Builders.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Empire State manufacturing sector index dropped from a reading of 9.56 to -9.02 in May, missing forecasts of 6.50.

The NAHB’s housing market index, measuring confidence in the sector, held at 58 in May, above the 50 level that indicates optimism. Analysts had expected a reading of 59.

In company news, Tesco’s shares rose strongly despite negative press at the weekend about whether a £3m bonus for chief executive Dave Lewis was justified in view of the weakness in the share price.

Barclays was in the red after agreeing to sell its London precious metals storage business to the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.

HSBC edged lower after saying it will transfer 840 IT jobs from the UK to other sites around the world, cutting almost 600 positions in Sheffield.

British Land was down, but cutting earlier losses, after solid final results were accompanied by a slightly cautious outlook.

Crest Nicholson gained after saying it was on track to meet its full year revenue target as it reported an increase in half year total forward sales and new house completions.

Lonmin surged after the South African platinum producer narrowed its half year pre-tax losses as revenues rose and the company cut costs.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 6,151.40 0.21%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 16,694.71 0.27%
techMARK (TASX) 3,052.44 -0.11%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Anglo American (AAL) 609.50p 5.41%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 426.50p 3.57%
Fresnillo (FRES) 1,149.00p 3.05%
Tesco (TSCO) 166.10p 2.75%
Glencore (GLEN) 133.90p 2.10%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 839.70p 2.05%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 6,280.00p 1.87%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 662.00p 1.85%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 184.90p 1.65%
ARM Holdings (ARM) 935.50p 1.52%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Provident Financial (PFG) 2,786.00p -1.80%
Shire Plc (SHP) 4,066.00p -1.64%
Inmarsat (ISAT) 749.50p -1.45%
Carnival (CCL) 3,582.00p -1.32%
SSE (SSE) 1,519.00p -1.24%
Mediclinic International (MDC) 826.00p -1.14%
Barclays (BARC) 163.50p -1.12%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,153.00p -1.03%
Old Mutual (OML) 167.60p -0.89%
Severn Trent (SVT) 2,234.00p -0.84%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Victrex plc (VCT) 1,506.00p 5.31%
Restaurant Group (RTN) 303.90p 5.30%
Evraz (EVR) 121.10p 5.12%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 261.10p 5.07%
Crest Nicholson Holdings (CRST) 549.00p 4.57%
Kaz Minerals (KAZ) 154.00p 3.84%
Shawbrook Group (SHAW) 265.50p 3.63%
Vedanta Resources (VED) 381.70p 3.58%
Bodycote (BOY) 592.50p 3.22%
Interserve (IRV) 314.30p 2.91%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Drax Group (DRX) 292.50p -6.79%
Entertainment One Limited (ETO) 171.80p -4.13%
Supergroup (SGP) 1,364.00p -2.43%
AO World (AO.) 163.00p -2.34%
DFS Furniture (DFS) 293.60p -2.30%
Sophos Group (SOPH) 220.00p -1.79%
TalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) 256.40p -1.76%
Clarkson (CKN) 2,230.00p -1.68%
Hastings Group Holdings (HSTG) 182.20p -1.62%
Allied Minds (ALM) 305.10p -1.58%