London midday: Stocks rise as investors bet on Macron
London stocks were trading higher by midday, tracking their European counterparts amid expectations that centrist Emmanuel Macron will beat far-right candidate Marine Le Pen in the second round of the French election.
The FTSE 100 was up 1.9% to 7,247.61. Meanwhile, the pound was up 0.1% against the dollar to 1.2820 and off 1.1% versus the euro at 1.1806.
Stocks in Europe racked up much stronger gains, with France's CAC 40 up 4.5% and Germany's DAX 3% firmer.
Eyes were firmly on France, where Emmanuel Macron and euro-sceptic Marine Le Pen won the first round of voting in the presidential election, seeing them through to the final run-off on 7 May. With 97.43% of votes counted, Macron had 23.86% to Le Pen's 21.43%.
Accendo Markets analyst Mike van Dulken said: "The assumption is that centrist Macron is victorious in a fortnight's time, picking up supporters of Fillon, Hamon and Mélenchon. Pollsters may have been right this time, how things swing in the next two weeks is anyone’s guess.
"Fresh talk of Trump tax hopes appear to have been tempered and markets still wary that aims will be elaborated on rather than actual policy progress, markets getting increasingly impatient for the latter, while the man himself concentrates on relationships with China and what to do with North Korea to keep us on our geopolitical toes."
Trump tweeted on Saturday that a big tax reform package will be announced on Wednesday.
Banks put in a solid performance, with Barclays and Standard Chartered in the black, tracking a surge in European bank shares. ETX Capital analyst Neil Wilson said: "Banks are doing well because there is now no major risk of significant outflows from the European banking system as investors no longer worry about the future of the euro. Until the Italian elections that is."
B&Q and Castorama owner Kingfisher - whose French division accounts for a large chunk of the group's turnover - racked up healthy gains.
Anglo American gained ground as it said copper production fell in the first but full year guidance was kept unchanged across the board as amounts of iron ore, coal and diamonds unearthed all rose strongly.
Independent IT infrastructure services provider Computacenter rallied after it put out a trading update for the first quarter - earlier than the date previously advised - due to its performance in the first quarter and an improved outlook for the full year.
Petra Diamonds pushed higher after it reported that third-quarter production was flat year-on-year at 999,768 carats compared with 995,905 carats. Production for nine months to 31 March 2017 was up 15% to 3,014,856 carats and the company maintained full year production guidance of around 4.4m carats.
Goals Soccer Centres rose sharply after the five-a-side operator confirmed that it was in discussions with rival Powerleague about the possibility of combining the two businesses.
Kennedy Wilson Europe Real Estate surged after it agreed terms of a recommended all-share merger with Kennedy Wilson Holdings.
Luxury shoe maker Jimmy Choo was on the front foot after saying it is conducting a review of various strategic options to "maximise value for its shareholders", including the sale of the company
On the downside, utilities Centrica and SSE retreated on news that the Conservative manifesto will include a cap on household energy bills. Centrica was also dragged lower by a downgrade to 'neutral' from UBS.
Randgold Resources was in the red after saying it is seeking to extend the operation life of its Tongon gold mine in the Côte d'lvoire beyond its four-year lifespan.
Tritax Big Box was weaker after announcing that it will raise £200m in equity in order to capitalise on property investment opportunities.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,247.61 1.87%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,547.47 0.98%
techMARK (TASX) 3,452.07 0.95%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Smurfit Kappa Group (SKG) 2,096.00p 5.70%
CRH (CRH) 2,860.00p 5.57%
Barclays (BARC) 218.10p 4.88%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 714.80p 4.21%
GKN (GKN) 365.00p 3.90%
Kingfisher (KGF) 339.10p 3.32%
Aviva (AV.) 526.50p 3.24%
Old Mutual (OML) 197.50p 3.19%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 1,139.00p 3.08%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,227.50p 3.02%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Centrica (CNA) 198.40p -4.48%
SSE (SSE) 1,403.00p -2.91%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 6,890.00p -2.55%
Fresnillo (FRES) 1,487.00p -0.73%
Severn Trent (SVT) 2,316.00p -0.17%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 902.50p -0.06%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 976.00p 0.05%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 1,823.00p 0.11%
Sage Group (SGE) 657.50p 0.38%
Compass Group (CPG) 1,521.00p 0.46%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Kennedy Wilson Europe Real Estate (KWE) 1,121.00p 14.56%
Computacenter (CCC) 788.50p 7.50%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 153.20p 4.57%
Fidelity European Values (FEV) 202.90p 4.05%
Smith (DS) (SMDS) 432.90p 3.24%
Serco Group (SRP) 117.00p 3.08%
Kaz Minerals (KAZ) 462.40p 3.08%
CYBG (CYBG) 285.30p 2.96%
Paysafe Group (PAYS) 456.40p 2.65%
Hastings Group Holdings (HSTG) 294.70p 2.61%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Tritax Big Box Reit (BBOX) 140.20p -4.76%
Allied Minds (ALM) 161.10p -3.53%
Vectura Group (VEC) 143.30p -3.37%
BTG (BTG) 629.00p -2.10%
Polymetal International (POLY) 1,010.00p -1.27%
PayPoint (PAY) 1,011.00p -1.17%
Restaurant Group (RTN) 352.60p -1.07%
Rank Group (RNK) 210.80p -1.03%
Indivior (INDV) 317.00p -0.94%
Stagecoach Group (SGC) 211.50p -0.84%