London open: Resource stocks give FTSE a boost on Chinese stimulus hopes

A decent rebound in the oil and mining sectors gave London's stocks a strong boost on Tuesday, as the UK equity market recovered after hitting its lowest level in over two weeks.

Resource stocks were being supported early on by a decent performance on Asian markets overnight on hopes of more stimulus in China.

The FTSE 100 was trading 1.2% higher at 6,733 after falling 1% to 6,656.37 on Monday, its lowest since 14 November.

Weak manufacturing figures from China and the Eurozone prompted stocks to fall the previous session, as markets continued to react to the recent plunge in crude prices.

However, West Texas Intermediate oil jumped 4.3% to $69 a barrel on Monday, its biggest one-day jump since August 2012, rallying after falling to its lowest in over four and a half years last week following OPEC's decision not to cut output.

Stocks in China rose to their highest in three years on Tuesday on the back of hopes that the central bank will ease monetary policy further after a surprise interest-rate cut last month. Speculation that the People's Bank of China may lower banks' reserve-requirement ratios gave financial shares a boost in Shanghai.

Tuesday's economic data calendar looked pretty thin, with the UK construction purchasing managers' index and US construction spending the only notable releases.

Oil and mining stocks rise

The resource sectors were in demand on Tuesday with Tullow Oil, BHP Billiton, BG Group, Anglo American, Glencore, BP, Rio Tinto and Shell among the best performers on the FTSE 100, with stimulus hopes in China lifting sentiment.

Even Randgold Resources was making gains despite a downgrade by Nomura to 'neutral'. Gold prices touched a five-week high on Monday.

Insurance giant Aviva has agreed a £5.6bn takeover of rival Friends Life in a deal giving the latter's shareholders just over a quarter of the combined group. Friends Life was rising strongly early on.

Interim results from Northgate were well-received by the market as the vehicle hire group hiked its dividend by over a third and said that trading since the half-year has been "slightly ahead" of expectations. Underlying profits in the first half surged 49%.

St Modwen Properties also rose after the regeneration specialist said full-year profits would be at the top-end of market expectations on the back of an uplift in property valuations.

Royal Mail was out of favour on reports that Ofcom has disagreed with the firm's complaints about competition from rivals in the end-to-end postal delivery market. The company had said that its universal service obligation was being affected by competitors being allowed to cherry pick more lucrative areas.

Market Movers
techMARK 2,935.29 +0.40%
FTSE 100 6,733.27 +1.16%
FTSE 250 15,808.72 +0.57%

FTSE 100 - Risers
Tullow Oil (TLW) 420.40p +4.97%
Experian (EXPN) 1,036.00p +3.08%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,529.00p +3.03%
BG Group (BG.) 931.90p +3.02%
Friends Life Group Limited (FLG) 377.20p +3.00%
Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 2,176.50p +2.62%
Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 2,265.00p +2.58%
BP (BP.) 424.45p +2.40%
Anglo American (AAL) 1,332.50p +2.19%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 751.00p +2.18%

FTSE 100 - Fallers
Royal Mail (RMG) 408.50p -2.30%
ARM Holdings (ARM) 904.50p -1.20%
Intertek Group (ITRK) 2,264.00p -0.75%
Sports Direct International (SPD) 666.50p -0.67%
easyJet (EZJ) 1,623.00p -0.61%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 905.00p -0.33%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 459.90p -0.24%
Associated British Foods (ABF) 3,199.00p -0.19%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 1,128.00p -0.18%
Persimmon (PSN) 1,538.00p -0.13%

FTSE 250 - Risers
Premier Oil (PMO) 198.60p +6.37%
Northgate (NTG) 512.50p +5.15%
Kaz Minerals (KAZ) 246.20p +4.77%
Afren (AFR) 47.78p +4.64%
Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 1,193.00p +3.74%
Cairn Energy (CNE) 164.90p +3.19%
EnQuest (ENQ) 46.55p +3.19%
Lonmin (LMI) 177.30p +3.02%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 614.00p +2.93%
Ophir Energy (OPHR) 142.70p +2.81%

FTSE 250 - Fallers
Tate & Lyle (TATE) 600.00p -1.15%
Serco Group (SRP) 172.50p -1.09%
PayPoint (PAY) 932.50p -1.01%
Barr (A.G.) (BAG) 601.00p -0.99%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 456.20p -0.91%
Spire Healthcare Group (SPI) 317.10p -0.91%
Brown (N.) Group (BWNG) 334.20p -0.77%
Balfour Beatty (BBY) 189.70p -0.73%
Stagecoach Group (SGC) 405.20p -0.69%
Paragon Group Of Companies (PAG) 413.50p -0.67%