London close: Stocks inch higher as miners gain, but upside limited

Gains from mining stocks kept the FTSE 100 afloat on Tuesday, though investors were showing caution with markets near record highs amid uncertainty in Greece and macro concerns.

After swinging between positive and negative territory throughout the day, the Footsie finished the session just 10.96 points higher (+0.16%) at 7,075.26. The index had set a new all-time closing high of 7,089.77 on Friday.

"Were it not for a sterling performance by the mining sector today, picking itself up off the floor following yesterday’s sell-off, then the FTSE 100 would have joined its Eurozone and US stablemates in negative territory," said IG analyst Chris Beauchamp.

Speculation that Greece is preparing for a debt default hit sentiment on the continent on Tuesday, with indices in Spain, Italy and Germany in particular registering heavy losses.

Athens was forced to come out and deny a Financial Times report that cited a government official as saying there is "no alternative" to a default if Athens does not reach a deal with its lenders. However, the office of prime minister Alexis Tsipras said in a statement that negotiations are "proceeding swiftly towards a mutually beneficial solution".

In economic data, Britain narrowly avoided a dip into deflation with official figures showing the UK consumer price inflation rate remained at a record low of 0% in March, in line with consensus. Cheaper clothing and footwear helped to maintain prices for a second month, though there are fears that the economy could enter deflation in the near future.

US retail sales grew by just 0.9% in March after a revised 0.5% fall the month before, missing the 1.1% gain expected by economists. This was just the first increase in sales in four months after spending declined over winter.

In other news, the International Monetary Fund reiterated its 3.5% growth forecast for the global economy for 2015, but upgraded its 2016 estimate by 10 basis points to 3.8%. However, whilst upgrading its forecasts for Europe and Japan, the IMF downgraded its outlook for the US economy.

Miners and oil stocks rise

Mining stocks were dominating the risers list on the top-flight index, including Anglo American, Rio Tinto, Glencore, BHP Billiton and Antofagasta as investors picked up shares after heavy falls on Monday.

A 1% increase in the price of Brent crude to $58.51 a barrel was also helping shares in the oil sector, including Shell, Soco International, Tullow Oil and Premier Oil. Tullow in particular surged after Citigroup raised its rating on the stock from 'neutral' to 'buy', saying that the oil group's portfolio quality was "undervalued" by the market.

Broker comments were also helping Barclays after Credit Suisse said the UK lender was its second-favourite investment banking stock in Europe behind UBS.

In contrast, Aberdeen Asset Management fell after a downgrade of the company’s stock to ‘underperform’ from ‘sector perform’ by RBC Capital Markets. Financial peer Hargreaves Lansdown was also hit by the news that its co-founder Peter Hargreaves has stepped down from the board.

UK hospital operator Spire Healthcare dropped sharply after private equity group Cinven sold down its stake to 38.3% with a £136m share sale. Meanwhile, reports that Ithmar Capital was planning to sell a stake worth £216m in Dubai-based Al Noor sent its shares into the red.

Market Movers
techMARK 3,258.10 -0.08%
FTSE 100 7,075.26 +0.16%
FTSE 250 17,858.81 +0.16%

FTSE 100 - Risers
Weir Group (WEIR) 1,880.00p +5.09%
Anglo American (AAL) 1,039.50p +4.09%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,459.50p +3.07%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 743.00p +2.91%
Glencore (GLEN) 293.35p +2.88%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 2,892.50p +2.79%
Fresnillo (FRES) 722.50p +1.83%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 1,112.00p +1.74%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 4,800.00p +1.73%
Aggreko (AGK) 1,600.00p +1.65%

FTSE 100 - Fallers
Shire Plc (SHP) 5,535.00p -2.55%
Aberdeen Asset Management (ADN) 493.80p -2.51%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 595.50p -2.38%
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,210.00p -2.18%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,083.50p -2.03%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 542.50p -1.81%
Carnival (CCL) 3,296.00p -1.73%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) 2,530.00p -1.67%
BAE Systems (BA.) 529.00p -1.40%
3i Group (III) 504.50p -1.37%

FTSE 250 - Risers
Soco International (SIA) 197.40p +8.94%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 368.60p +8.57%
Vedanta Resources (VED) 558.00p +7.83%
Premier Oil (PMO) 165.50p +6.57%
Lonmin (LMI) 133.60p +6.37%
Enterprise Inns (ETI) 116.70p +5.61%
Hunting (HTG) 583.50p +4.95%
Kaz Minerals (KAZ) 229.80p +4.60%
Supergroup (SGP) 1,000.00p +3.95%
Bank of Georgia Holdings (BGEO) 2,037.00p +3.56%

FTSE 250 - Fallers
Spire Healthcare Group (SPI) 330.00p -10.11%
AL Noor Hospitals Group (ANH) 905.00p -8.82%
Hiscox Ltd (CDI) (HSX) 851.00p -3.46%
Allied Minds (ALM) 701.00p -3.31%
De La Rue (DLAR) 585.00p -2.17%
International Personal Finance (IPF) 476.40p -2.06%
Zoopla Property Group (WI) (ZPLA) 204.00p -1.92%
Man Group (EMG) 211.80p -1.85%
Telecity Group (TCY) 915.50p -1.77%
Fidelity China Special Situations (FCSS) 166.90p -1.71%