London midday: Rise in Chinese exports boosts shares

London stocks advanced on Wednesday as a bigger-than-expected rise in Chinese exports boosted investor confidence.

China exports rose 11.5% in March year-on-year in dollar terms, according to the General Administration of Customs. The increase was more than the 10% expected by analysts and compared to a 25.4% drop in February. It also marked the first rise in nine months, soothing worries about China's economic slowdown.

Imports in March fell 7.6%, less than the 10.1% drop expected and following a 13.8% decline in February.

“For the last month-and-a-half the FTSE has lacked a true catalyst for growth, something those Chinese export figures provided in bucketloads,” said Connor Campbell, financial analyst at Spreadex.

The positive data on the world’s largest consumer of commodities provided a boost to mining stocks. Anglo American, BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto were among the biggest risers on the FTSE 100.

The figures come a day after the International Monetary Fund said China’s slowdown may not be as severe as first thought, revising its economic growth forecasts to 6.5% this year and 6.2% next year, both up two-tenths of a percentage point from the last outlook.

Meanwhile, oil prices reversed gains seen on Tuesday with Brent crude falling 0.72% to $44.37 and West Texas Intermediate decreasing 1.15% to $41.69 per barrel at 1141 BST.

Investors are awaiting a report from the Department of Energy on weekly US crude inventories at 1530 BST and a 17 April meeting between global producers on whether to freeze output.

US retail sales data at 1330 BST is also high on the agenda.

Elsewhere, Industrial output in the Eurozone fell a little more than expected in February, according to data from Eurostat. Output was down 0.8% versus expectations of a 0.7% drop.

In company news, Tesco shares dropped after chief executive David Lewis cautioned that the grocer’s focus on investment in the customer offer to cope with the cut-throat UK grocery market will impact profitability particularly in the first half of the year. The company swung to a £162m pre-tax profit that marked a turnaround from the previous year's record £6.3bn loss, but fell short of expectations for £541m.

Halfords rallied as the car parts-to-bikes retailer said full year revenues rose 1.7%, driven by a strong final quarter where sales rose 3.2%.

Shares in Mr Kipling and Oxo owner Premier Foods tumbled on Wednesday as US-based McCormick & Co. said it did not intend to make an offer for the company.

Inchcape jumped after JP Morgan Cazenove reiterated its ‘overweight’ stance on the stock and added it to its European Analyst Focus List as one of its highest conviction OW calls.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 6,328.49 1.38%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 16,967.85 1.03%
techMARK (TASX) 3,165.79 0.53%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Standard Chartered (STAN) 510.70p 8.50%
Anglo American (AAL) 682.30p 6.83%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 854.60p 5.69%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 442.30p 5.28%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 2,175.50p 4.27%
Prudential (PRU) 1,401.00p 4.16%
Barclays (BARC) 161.95p 4.05%
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 225.50p 4.01%
Standard Life (SL.) 360.50p 4.01%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 68.97p 3.50%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Tesco (TSCO) 187.25p -4.61%
Pearson (PSON) 825.00p -1.20%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 6,785.00p -1.09%
Worldpay Group (WI) (WPG) 273.30p -0.73%
Severn Trent (SVT) 2,233.00p -0.45%
SABMiller (SAB) 4,221.00p -0.44%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 956.00p -0.42%
SSE (SSE) 1,515.00p -0.39%
National Grid (NG.) 990.50p -0.34%
Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 200.60p -0.30%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Evraz (EVR) 118.90p 9.79%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 218.50p 8.01%
Halfords Group (HFD) 415.50p 7.64%
International Personal Finance (IPF) 279.40p 6.32%
Inchcape (INCH) 722.00p 5.40%
Aberdeen Asset Management (ADN) 288.30p 4.53%
Kaz Minerals (KAZ) 169.50p 4.44%
Morgan Advanced Materials (MGAM) 223.80p 4.00%
Amec Foster Wheeler (AMFW) 486.60p 3.95%
IP Group (IPO) 160.90p 3.67%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Dunelm Group (DNLM) 919.00p -3.62%
Acacia Mining (ACA) 301.40p -3.02%
WH Smith (SMWH) 1,752.00p -2.94%
McCarthy & Stone (MCS) 271.50p -1.63%
Jimmy Choo (CHOO) 128.90p -1.60%
Allied Minds (ALM) 378.30p -1.48%
Booker Group (BOK) 167.90p -1.24%
William Hill (WMH) 332.60p -1.01%
Greencore Group (GNC) 375.80p -1.00%
Dechra Pharmaceuticals (DPH) 1,182.00p -0.92%