London midday: Stocks gain as Hillary Clinton cleared by FBI

London stocks jumped on Monday as investors cheered news that the FBI cleared Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton of any wrongdoing over the weekend.

The FTSE 100 rose 1.54% to 6,796.47.

The FBI said over the weekend that a fresh inquiry into Clinton’s communications found nothing to change the conclusion it had come to over the summer and that there had been no evidence of criminal wrongdoing after she used a private email server for government work.

“The big question is whether this announcement will have a material effect upon the outcome of the US election, which is clearly perceived to be the case according to today’s market reaction,” said IG’s Joshua Mahony.

“Markets are likely to remain on tenterhooks until we see the result of the US election, with all other economic events and announcements disregarded until the cloud hanging over the financial markets dissipates.”

In another lift to sentiment, a Bloomberg poll showed Clinton has a three-point lead over Trump ahead of the 8 November presidential election. The final Bloomberg Politics national poll before the election has Clinton at 44% compared to Trump’s 41%.

The dollar rose 0.83% against the pound, increased 0.70% versus the euro and jumped 1.22% versus the yen.

Elsewhere, a report from Markit showed eurozone retail sales contracted further in October. The purchasing managers’ index fell to 48.6 last month from 49.6 in September, below the 50 level that separates a contraction from an expansion.

Separately, Eurostat revealed the seasonally-adjusted volume of retail trade among the 19 eurozone countries dropped 0.2% month-on-month in September, the same as the revised fall from August but better than the 0.3% fall estimated by economists.

Compared to September last year, retail sales rose 1.1%, worse than the revised 1.2% increase seen a month ago and short of the consensus estimate of 1.3%.

The Sentix investor confidence index for the eurozone, however, rose to 13.1 in November from 8.5 last month.

Meanwhile, oil prices bounced higher after OPEC secretary general Mohammed Barkindo reiterated the cartel’s commitment to a deal to curb production. Brent crude rose 1.19% to $46.13 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate increased 1.5% to $44.78 per barrel at 1152 GMT.

In corporate news, HSBC gained ground as it said profits in the third quarter fell 86% compared to last year due to a disposal of its Brazilian bank, but underlying profits were higher in all four of its businesses.

Mining and energy stocks rallied on firmer oil and commodity prices, including Glencore, BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto.

Ryanair flew higher after the budget airline reported a rise in first-half profit as revenue and customer numbers grew despite difficult market conditions, and upped its long-term traffic forecast.

Technology company Smiths Group ticked up as it sold its IVF product to US-based multinational CooperSurgical for £140m.

Inmarsat was on the front foot after Barclays upgraded its stance on the satellite company to ‘equalweight’ from ‘underweight’.

Drinks company Fever-Tree fizzed higher after saying it expects its full-year results to be ahead of market views following a solid performance in the second half.

On the downside, Tesco shares fell after its Tesco Bank business halted online transactions as current account customers were hit by fraud.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 6,796.47 1.54%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 17,406.12 0.78%
techMARK (TASX) 3,295.10 0.82%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Glencore (GLEN) 250.00p 5.13%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 623.70p 4.86%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 554.50p 4.33%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,216.00p 4.29%
Anglo American (AAL) 1,109.50p 3.55%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,464.00p 3.46%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 2,821.00p 3.43%
CRH (CRH) 2,622.00p 2.74%
Old Mutual (OML) 191.80p 2.29%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 646.30p 2.12%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Fresnillo (FRES) 1,601.00p -1.48%
Tesco (TSCO) 200.05p -1.21%
Worldpay Group (WPG) 280.10p -0.67%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 1,616.00p -0.62%
easyJet (EZJ) 980.50p -0.31%
National Grid (NG.) 1,015.00p -0.20%
Persimmon (PSN) 1,674.00p -0.18%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 1,728.00p -0.00%
Whitbread (WTB) 3,556.00p -0.00%
Dixons Carphone (DC.) 324.00p 0.09%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Vedanta Resources (VED) 753.00p 5.39%
Evraz (EVR) 196.20p 4.42%
Sports Direct International (SPD) 319.20p 3.70%
Countrywide (CWD) 185.70p 3.69%
Clarkson (CKN) 2,092.00p 3.26%
Kaz Minerals (KAZ) 287.60p 3.12%
Temple Bar Inv Trust (TMPL) 1,124.00p 3.12%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 265.00p 2.95%
Morgan Advanced Materials (MGAM) 266.00p 2.82%
Petra Diamonds Ltd.(DI) (PDL) 147.60p 2.79%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Shawbrook Group (SHAW) 237.40p -2.86%
Card Factory (CARD) 248.80p -2.81%
IP Group (IPO) 142.30p -1.86%
esure Group (ESUR) 189.90p -1.81%
Ted Baker (TED) 2,470.00p -1.71%
Vesuvius (VSVS) 347.60p -1.59%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 261.00p -1.58%
Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group (JLT) 1,018.00p -1.55%
Hastings Group Holdings (HSTG) 213.00p -1.48%
B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI) (BME) 231.80p -1.24%