London midday: Stocks rally as investors grab a bargain

London stocks were firmly in the black by midday on Wednesday as investors picked up some bargains following recent heavy falls.

The FTSE 100 was up 1.6% at 7,078.29, while Brent crude fell back towards $125 a barrel, having risen to over $130 after the US announced a ban on imports of Russian oil, with the UK also set to phase out imports by the end of the year.

Sentiment appeared to improve after Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said he was no longer pressing for NATO membership, which was one of the reasons given by Russia for its invasion. In an interview with ABC News, Zelensky said: "I have cooled down regarding this question a long time ago after we understood that ... NATO is not prepared to accept Ukraine."

Referring to NATO membership, Zelensky said he did not want to be president of a "country which is begging something on its knees".

ING said market participants seemed to be hoping, "perhaps optimistically", that some kind of ceasefire can emerge in Ukraine.

"Fanning those hopes seem to be comments from President Zelensky that Ukraine no longer seeks NATO membership. At the same time, it seems that Russia may no longer be seeking regime change in Kyiv. This seems to be building expectations that some kind of deal can be achieved when Ukraine and Russian foreign ministers meet in Turkey tomorrow."

In equity markets, Anglo-Russian precious metals miner Polymetal was the top performer on the FTSE 100 after saying there had been no disruption to its operations in Russia and Kazakhstan despite sanctions imposed on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine.

Russian steelmaker Evraz also shot higher after saying it had not been affected by international sanctions imposed on Russia.

Electrocomponents rallied after it said in an update that revenue and adjusted operating profit margin were tracking ahead of expectations following a strong performance over the last nine weeks.

Asia-focused insurer Prudential was among the gainers as it reported a rise in annual operating profit driven by new business amid the Covid pandemic.

Legal & General was also up after it posted a jump in 2021 profit and lifted its dividend as it benefited from a post-pandemic economic recovery and an easing of restrictions.

Recently-battered travel-related shares were also in the black, with InterContinental Hotels, BA owner IAG, budget airlines Wizz and easyJet, travel firm Tui and cruise operator Carnival all higher.

On the downside, miners slumped, with Rio Tinto, Glencore, Antofagasta and Anglo American all down.

Centamin, Hochschild and Fresnillo were also lower as gold prices retreated.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,078.29 1.64%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,823.37 3.15%
techMARK (TASX) 4,109.93 1.56%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Polymetal International (POLY) 132.05p 43.50%
Evraz (EVR) 98.24p 26.01%
Electrocomponents (ECM) 953.00p 9.79%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 118.55p 8.41%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 142.15p 7.89%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 129.90p 7.11%
M&G (MNG) 218.80p 6.68%
Mondi (MNDI) 1,404.50p 6.56%
Intermediate Capital Group (ICP) 1,514.00p 6.21%
Smith (DS) (SMDS) 313.90p 6.15%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Fresnillo (FRES) 767.40p -5.07%
BAE Systems (BA.) 721.20p -4.40%
BP (BP.) 368.30p -3.08%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,473.00p -2.96%
Glencore (GLEN) 463.20p -2.73%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 5,732.00p -2.63%
Shell (SHEL) 2,002.25p -1.83%
Anglo American (AAL) 3,789.00p -1.14%
Royal Mail (RMG) 345.60p -0.89%
Avast (AVST) 636.20p -0.09%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Petropavlovsk (POG) 3.75p 25.00%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 2,837.00p 12.71%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 850.80p 12.21%
Trainline (TRN) 177.60p 11.70%
Trustpilot Group (TRST) 143.20p 11.35%
Quilter (QLT) 130.60p 11.05%
Network International Holdings (NETW) 188.35p 9.63%
Cineworld Group (CINE) 32.75p 9.39%
Watches of Switzerland Group (WOSG) 1,062.00p 9.26%
Baltic Classifieds Group (BCG) 108.50p 8.72%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Centamin (DI) (CEY) 102.50p -6.61%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 139.10p -5.05%
Endeavour Mining (EDV) 1,985.00p -5.02%
Energean (ENOG) 1,036.00p -4.95%
Capricorn Energy (CNE) 194.20p -3.00%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 321.60p -2.52%
PureTech Health (PRTC) 179.40p -1.97%
888 Holdings (888) 189.50p -1.81%
BlackRock World Mining Trust (BRWM) 755.00p -1.69%
Chemring Group (CHG) 315.50p -1.41%