London close: Stocks finish higher as miners rally on China data
London stocks finished comfortably higher on Friday, as miners were boosted by better-than-expected Chinese industrial production figures.
The FTSE 100 ended the session up 1.01% at 5,799.77, and the FTSE 250 was 1.66% firmer at 15,660.77.
Sterling was weaker against both of its major trading pairs, however, last falling 0.86% against the dollar to $1.2125, and sliding 0.92% on the euro to €1.1213.
Sentiment was boosted earlier after data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed that Chinese industrial output rose 3.9% in April from a year earlier, compared to a 1.1% decline in March and coming in ahead of expectations for a 1.5% increase.
“Overnight data from China highlights the potential pathway for European nations, with the Asian powerhouse continuing to see dour data despite the headway made against the virus,” said Joshua Mahony, senior market analyst at IG.
“Unfortunately, the ability to bring down Covid-19 deaths does not necessarily bring a sharp economic bounceback.”
Mahony said one particular area of optimism came from the Chinese industrial production figure, which rose back into positive territory to signal a potential pick-up in business activity.
“However, with global demand on the wane, there will continue to be questions over Chinese growth as a result of the worldwide lockdown.”
Mining stocks - which are heavily dependent on demand from China - rallied on the data, with Anglo American up 5.1%, Glencore ahead 3.89%, Rio Tinto rising 4.39% and BHP adding 4.28%.
Elsewhere, BT held onto its gains to close up 5.43%, following a report it is in early-stage talks to sell a multibillion-pound stake in its infrastructure division, Openreach.
Cruise operator Carnival gained 6.67% and budget airline easyJet ascended 3.16% - both stocks which have been hit hard on coronavirus worries.
Computacenter gained 12.72% after saying business had picked up further since late April and that the first half of 2020 would be "considerably ahead" of the same period a year earlier.
Bookmaker William Hill surged 8.06% after saying it was planning a phased re-opening of its UK betting shops in the second half as it reported a slump in sales during the coronavirus crisis.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 5,799.77 1.01%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 15,660.77 1.66%
techMARK (TASX) 3,577.68 1.38%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Meggitt (MGGT) 255.00p 7.19%
Carnival (CCL) 885.80p 6.67%
Fresnillo (FRES) 737.60p 6.10%
BT Group (BT.A) 107.70p 5.43%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 87.86p 5.22%
Anglo American (AAL) 1,433.80p 5.10%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,922.00p 4.39%
BHP Group (BHP) 1,418.60p 4.28%
Bunzl (BNZL) 1,710.00p 4.27%
Whitbread (WTB) 2,667.00p 4.26%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
3i Group (III) 766.00p -3.89%
M&G (MNG) 109.15p -3.75%
Next (NXT) 4,422.00p -3.28%
Ferguson (FERG) 5,680.00p -2.54%
Associated British Foods (ABF) 1,624.00p -2.43%
Legal & General Group (LGEN) 184.15p -1.89%
Compass Group (CPG) 1,135.00p -1.49%
Informa (INF) 414.00p -1.43%
CRH (CRH) 2,272.00p -1.17%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 8,671.00p -1.07%
FTSE 250 - Risers
National Express Group (NEX) 206.40p 13.28%
Computacenter (CCC) 1,506.00p 12.72%
Trainline (TRN) 391.80p 10.87%
Hammerson (HMSO) 48.17p 10.58%
Rank Group (RNK) 135.60p 9.53%
Stagecoach Group (SGC) 56.00p 9.51%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 33.46p 8.99%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 161.40p 8.91%
Royal Mail (RMG) 175.95p 8.38%
William Hill (WMH) 115.35p 8.06%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
WH Smith (SMWH) 829.50p -5.15%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 85.04p -4.10%
Equiniti Group (EQN) 137.00p -3.38%
Cineworld Group (CINE) 55.04p -3.37%
Pets at Home Group (PETS) 227.40p -2.89%
Workspace Group (WKP) 620.00p -2.13%
ICG Enterprise Trust (ICGT) 650.00p -2.11%
Mediclinic International (MDC) 252.60p -2.09%
Syncona Limited NPV (SYNC) 199.20p -1.63%
Law Debenture Corp. (LWDB) 453.00p -1.63%