London open: Mining shares lift equities higher

London stocks advanced on Wednesday, lifted higher by mining shares as metal prices rose.

Anglo American, Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton topped the FTSE 100 in morning trade as the price of gold and copper jumped on the Comex.

SABMiller was also on the front foot, reversing the previous day’s decline after a weak trading update and reports that it rejected an informal offer from Anheuser-Busch InBev. Shares in SABMiller were raised by fresh reports that AB InBen has raised its bid to £42.15 per share.

Going the other way, Tesco edged lower after reporting a 55% drop in first half operating profit as discount retailers continue to take their toll, and warned the grocery market remained challenging.

International Consolidated Airlines and EasyJet snapped Tuesday’s rally after the latter’s passenger numbers provided a positive outlook for the airline industry.

In economic data, Germany’s industrial production rose 2.3% year-on-year in August, missing analysts’ expectations for a 3.3% gain. Compared to a month ago output in August fell 1.2%, trailing estimates for a 0.2% rise.

The UK will also see the release of industrial and manufacturing production figures at 0930 BST, amid concerns about the industry.

“The UK has its own manufacturing and industrial production figures to come later in the morning, both expected to improve on the negative numbers seen last month; however, as has been shown in Germany this morning, European data has been overwhelmingly disappointing of late, so there is a significant chance the UK won’t meet analysts’ estimates,” said Connor Campbell, financial analyst at Spreadex.

Meanwhile, the NIESR will release its latest gross domestic product estimate for the UK at 1500 BST.

The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday downgraded its global economic outlook, saying a slowdown in emerging markets is leading the rest of the world into its weakest expansion since the financial crisis. The IMF cut its forecast for global growth to 3.1% this year from its previous estimate of 3.3%.

Market Movers

techMARK 3,048.00 -0.53%

FTSE 100 6,336.70 +0.17%

FTSE 250 17,146.58 +0.08%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Anglo American (AAL) 639.60p +5.86%

Rio Tinto (RIO) 2,413.00p +4.28%

BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,097.50p +3.59%

SABMiller (SAB) 3,735.50p +3.13%

Aberdeen Asset Management (ADN) 335.40p +2.51%

Antofagasta (ANTO) 550.00p +2.42%

Standard Chartered (STAN) 727.90p +1.93%

Aviva (AV.) 481.80p +1.75%

Old Mutual (OML) 205.50p +1.58%

BP (BP.) 383.30p +1.38%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 567.00p -3.32%

easyJet (EZJ) 1,712.00p -2.73%

Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 507.00p -2.41%

Carnival (CCL) 3,368.00p -2.18%

Tesco (TSCO) 188.30p -2.00%

TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 1,243.00p -1.97%

Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 2,216.00p -1.95%

AstraZeneca (AZN) 4,119.50p -1.94%

Sports Direct International (SPD) 764.00p -1.48%

Wolseley (WOS) 3,748.00p -1.47%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Premier Oil (PMO) 88.95p +6.78%

Vedanta Resources (VED) 469.80p +5.22%

Tullow Oil (TLW) 233.50p +4.66%

Ophir Energy (OPHR) 103.20p +4.14%

Kaz Minerals (KAZ) 112.80p +3.58%

Wood Group (John) (WG.) 706.50p +3.44%

Hunting (HTG) 456.00p +3.24%

Amec Foster Wheeler (AMFW) 825.00p +3.06%

Circassia Pharmaceuticals (CIR) 298.40p +2.86%

Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 857.50p +2.45%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 1,938.00p -2.76%

BTG (BTG) 584.50p -2.75%

Jimmy Choo (CHOO) 139.60p -1.97%

Michael Page International (MPI) 478.60p -1.81%

Betfair Group (BET) 3,214.00p -1.59%

Foxtons Group (FOXT) 236.20p -1.58%

Savills (SVS) 914.50p -1.56%

NMC Health (NMC) 849.00p -1.28%

Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group (JLT) 1,009.00p -1.27%

Pace (PIC) 367.90p -1.26%

FTSE TechMARK - Risers

Spirent Communications (SPT) 77.00p +2.33%

Consort Medical (CSRT) 940.00p +1.35%

Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 617.50p +0.41%

Dialight (DIA) 666.50p +0.38%

SDL (SDL) 368.00p +0.20%

XP Power Ltd. (DI) (XPP) 1,671.00p +0.06%

FTSE TechMARK - Fallers

KCOM Group (KCOM) 89.25p -2.99%

IShares Euro Gov Bond 7-10YR UCITS ETF (IEGM) € 202.96 -0.02%