London close: Stocks end higher as miners and oil producers rally

The FTSE reversed an earlier decline on Tuesday to end higher, led by mining and energy producers as oil and base metal prices rallied.

Oil producers Royal Dutch Shell, BP and BG Group were among the top risers as Brent crude and West Texas Immediate jumped 4% to $51.34 per barrel and 3.5% to $47.96 per barrel respectively.

“With oil rallying today it is hardly surprising to see major oil stocks extend their bounce into a second session,” said IG senior market analyst Chris Beauchamp.

“So long as Syria remains a flashpoint in international affairs we are likely to see a constant bid under the oil price.”

Mining shares including Anglo American and Fresnillo were also sitting higher on an increase in metal prices.

Meanwhile, the US market was lifted by hopes the Federal Reserve will hold interest rates unchanged for longer following Friday’s weaker-than-expected non-farm payrolls report. Fed official John Williams may shed further light behind the central bank’s next move when he speaks in California after the close.

Elsewhere in the US, the trade deficit widened in August as a strong dollar kept exports to three-year low. According to figures published by the Commerce Department, trade deficit in the world’s largest economy jumped 16% month-on-month to $48.3bn in August, higher than the $47.1bn analysts had expected.

Back on this side of the pond, Halifax revealed UK house prices fell 0.9% in September from August when prices rose 2.7%. Analysts had pencilled in a 0.1% gain. Compared to a year ago, prices slowed to 8.6% growth in the three months to September, compared to a previous 9% increase and analysts’ forecasts of 9.1% growth.

Germany’s factory orders fell 1.8% month-on-month in August, marking the second successive month of a

decline following a 2.2% drop in July, Destatis revealed. The figure was well short of the expected 0.5% increase.

Retail sales in the Eurozone grew for the fifth consecutive month in September, Markit showed. The purchasing managers’ index rose to 51.9 from 51.4 in August, above the 50 level that separates an expansion from a contraction.

On the company front, SABMiller slumped after reporting a 9% decline in revenue on a reported basis for the six months to 30 September, reflecting currency headwinds. Bloomberg reported that the company has rejected an informal takeover offer from Anheuser-Busch InBev that it considered too low.

Ted Baker was also in the red despite reporting a better-than-expected 24.5% jump in half-year revenue and a 14.6% increase in pre-tax profit to £17.8m in line with estimates.

Acacia Mining tumbled after the miner revealed its production in the third quarter was weaker than expected and lowered its full-year guidance.

Greggs surged after saying it sales in the 13 weeks to October were slightly ahead of expectations with the full year likely to be ahead of previous guidance.

WM Morrison Supermarkets and fellow supermarket chain Tesco gained ahead of the latter’s first half results on Wednesday.

EasyJet descended despite reporting a 7.6% increase in September passenger numbers.

Market Movers

techMARK 3,063.78 -0.62%

FTSE 100 6,333.80 +0.55%

FTSE 250 17,134.19 +0.14%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Anglo American (AAL) 605.50p +4.49%

Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 1,771.00p +3.81%

Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 1,752.50p +3.73%

Fresnillo (FRES) 674.50p +3.37%

Tesco (TSCO) 192.20p +3.03%

BP (BP.) 378.85p +2.95%

Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 173.10p +2.91%

BG Group (BG.) 1,064.50p +2.85%

Glencore (GLEN) 118.00p +2.61%

Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,441.00p +2.49%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 2,268.00p -4.10%

SABMiller (SAB) 3,623.00p -3.75%

easyJet (EZJ) 1,762.00p -2.54%

Shire Plc (SHP) 4,490.00p -2.48%

ARM Holdings (ARM) 944.00p -1.97%

Severn Trent (SVT) 2,225.00p -1.29%

Legal & General Group (LGEN) 247.30p -1.28%

Dixons Carphone (DC.) 442.20p -1.12%

AstraZeneca (AZN) 4,203.00p -1.05%

Land Securities Group (LAND) 1,295.00p -0.84%

FTSE 250 - Risers

AL Noor Hospitals Group (ANH) 1,001.00p +8.92%

Greggs (GRG) 1,155.00p +7.34%

Tullow Oil (TLW) 222.60p +6.61%

Brewin Dolphin Holdings (BRW) 268.00p +5.72%

Premier Oil (PMO) 83.35p +5.57%

Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 837.00p +5.42%

International Personal Finance (IPF) 422.90p +5.36%

Amec Foster Wheeler (AMFW) 801.50p +4.50%

Nostrum Oil & Gas (NOG) 546.00p +4.20%

Hunting (HTG) 441.70p +4.08%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Acacia Mining (ACA) 220.00p -15.48%

BTG (BTG) 602.50p -9.13%

Entertainment One Limited (ETO) 218.80p -4.87%

Drax Group (DRX) 250.60p -4.42%

Betfair Group (BET) 3,255.00p -3.33%

Ted Baker (TED) 3,181.00p -2.96%

Genus (GNS) 1,381.00p -2.75%

Sophos Group (SOPH) 236.90p -2.67%

Playtech (PTEC) 785.50p -2.60%

Riverstone Energy Limited (RSE) 890.00p -2.47%

FTSE TechMARK - Risers

E2V Technologies (E2V) 239.25p +2.03%

Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 614.50p +1.82%

Torotrak (TRK) 6.86p +1.19%

Oxford Biomedica (OXB) 7.80p +0.78%

KCOM Group (KCOM) 91.75p +0.55%

SDL (SDL) 368.00p +0.34%

Dialight (DIA) 665.00p +0.08%

FTSE TechMARK - Fallers

Sarossa (SARS) 1.82p -4.71%

XP Power Ltd. (DI) (XPP) 1,631.00p -2.63%

BATM Advanced Communications Ltd. (BVC) 19.50p -2.50%

Skyepharma (SKP) 340.00p -1.45%

Innovation Group (TIG) 39.25p -0.63%

Sepura (SEPU) 174.00p -0.43%

Ricardo (RCDO) 884.50p -0.39%

Spirent Communications (SPT) 75.50p -0.33%

IShares Euro Gov Bond 7-10YR UCITS ETF (IEGM) € 203.00 -0.25%

Consort Medical (CSRT) 928.00p -0.22%