London open: Stocks in the black as oil rallies, miners gain
Stocks in London rose in early trade, tracking gains in the US and Asia as oil and metals prices rallied.
At 0825 GMT, the FTSE 100 was up 0.8% to 6,831.50.
Meanwhile, oil prices were in the black amid hopes that next week’s OPEC meeting will see member states and non-OPEC Russia agree a production cut. West Texas Intermediate was up 3.9% to $47.49 a barrel and Brent crude was 0.4% higher at $49.08.
Spreadex’s Connor Campbell said: “The FTSE jumped 60 points to once again cross 6800, the index aided by the continued rebound from its oil and mining stocks, which have in turn been boosted by a $49 per barrel-plus increase for Brent Crude and a 1.8% rise from copper.
“In terms of data the main figure this morning is the latest UK public sector net borrowing reading; luckily for Philip Hammond the number should nearly halve month-on-month, from £10.1 billion in September to £5.9 billion in October.
The UK public spending and net borrowing figures are due at 0930 GMT, while US existing home sales are at 1500 GMT.
Mining stocks were the standout gainers as metals prices rallied with Anglo American, BHP Billiton, Antofagasta and Rio Tinto the top risers.
In corporate news, Hikma Pharmaceuticals pushed up after signing a development and licensing agreement with Vectura for its generic salmeterol product (VR730) for the treatment of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
AstraZeneca edged higher after saying it will resume enrolment for a new cancer drug trial after the US Food and Drug Administration lifted a partial clinical hold on the enrolment of new patients with head and neck cancer.
International distribution and outsourcing group Bunzl ticked just a touch higher as it entered into agreements to buy two businesses in France and Denmark for an undisclosed sum.
Lloyds Banking Group was in the black as the UK government cut its stake in the bank to just under 8%.
Food services company Compass Group was on the back foot despite posting a rise in full-year pre-tax profit, while Kingfisher declined as the home improvement retailer said sales kept improving in the third quarter, but like-for-like sales growth slowed due to further softness in France.
On the FTSE 250, Homeserve advanced as it reported a jump in first-half pre-tax profit, but Mitchells & Butlers slipped after posting a drop in full-year profit and like-for-like sales.
Online electrical retailer AO World was also in the red despite swinging to a profit in the first half.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 6,830.19 0.77%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 17,667.98 0.80%
techMARK (TASX) 3,307.60 0.34%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Anglo American (AAL) 1,179.50p 5.08%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,323.50p 4.09%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 706.50p 3.67%
Glencore (GLEN) 277.75p 3.58%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,057.00p 2.95%
Old Mutual (OML) 191.00p 2.41%
Persimmon (PSN) 1,789.00p 2.35%
Mondi (MNDI) 1,623.00p 2.20%
Sky (SKY) 766.00p 2.07%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 153.20p 1.93%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Compass Group (CPG) 1,325.00p -4.74%
Kingfisher (KGF) 363.50p -1.68%
Fresnillo (FRES) 1,312.00p -1.35%
Royal Mail (RMG) 459.00p -0.80%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 200.65p -0.74%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 655.00p -0.30%
Intertek Group (ITRK) 3,236.00p -0.25%
DCC (DCC) 6,210.00p -0.24%
Shire Plc (SHP) 4,701.50p -0.22%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 4,350.00p -0.17%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Vedanta Resources (VED) 858.50p 6.85%
Rotork (ROR) 211.20p 5.39%
Mitie Group (MTO) 197.30p 3.84%
Kaz Minerals (KAZ) 361.80p 3.79%
Electrocomponents (ECM) 452.00p 2.87%
Evraz (EVR) 246.80p 2.62%
Allied Minds (ALM) 373.10p 2.42%
Virgin Money Holdings (UK) (VM.) 326.60p 2.38%
Investec (INVP) 519.00p 2.37%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 2,570.00p 2.31%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
CYBG (CYBG) 283.00p -3.97%
Essentra (ESNT) 381.90p -2.90%
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 134.50p -1.47%
Entertainment One Limited (ETO) 242.70p -1.26%
Spectris (SXS) 2,033.00p -1.07%
Rathbone Brothers (RAT) 1,832.00p -0.97%
Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 271.10p -0.88%
IP Group (IPO) 146.40p -0.81%
Dunelm Group (DNLM) 747.50p -0.80%
CMC Markets (CMCX) 200.80p -0.59%