London open: Stocks rise as miners gain; Galliford Try rallies after rejecting Bovis bid

London stocks edged higher in early trade on Tuesday, taking their cue from a positive Asian session as traders returned to their desks after the Bank Holiday weekend.

At 0840 BST, the FTSE 100 was up 0.2% at 7,292.12, with sentiment underpinned by hopes of a trade deal between the US and Japan after US President Trump said he was keen to rebalance the trade relationship between the two countries.

Closer to home, investors were mulling the results of the European elections.

Neil Wilson, chief market analyst at Markets.com, said: "European bourses have firmed as it looked like the political centre ground is holding in the EU despite pressure from right and left, whilst we have some upbeat spin on trade to contend with as we hear about a possible US-Japan trade deal. London and Wall Street will be playing catch up today.

Wilson said that while the European elections returned gains for a number of right-wing, Eurosceptic parties as expected, it was "not enough to really shake the ground from under the centrists".

"The main blocs have held on to remain just about in control, although for the first time they have lost their combined majority," he said.

In currency markets, sterling was flat against the dollar at 1.2674 and 0.1% firmer versus the euro at 1.1338.

Wilson said pressure on the pound remains firm. "The Brexit Party won the day, although the overtly Remain parties did very well with the Lib Dems and Greens enjoying a strong bump in support. European elections are entirely meaningless of course in terms of the Westminster arithmetic, but the impact on the ruling Tory party is key.

"For markets, we should expect the result to impact the leadership race and already a number of leading candidates have upped the no-deal rhetoric. One can only argue that this will, on the margins at least, push candidates more towards the fringes and see the party go more to the right. Given the Tory membership’s pro-Brexit feelings there is an ever-increasing risk of a no-deal exit at this stage. A lot is priced in but a no-deal would see further downside for the pound."

In equity markets, miners were the standout gainers as copper prices rose, with Rio Tinto, Antofagasta and BHP all trading up.

Housebuilder Galliford Try was on the rise after saying it had rejected a bid from rival Bovis Homes as the offer was not in the interests of all shareholders. Bovis wanted to buy Galliford’s Linden Homes and Partnerships & Regeneration arm in exchange for new Bovis shares.

FTSE 250 lender Amigo Holdings was on the front foot as it posted a 38.3% jump in full-year adjusted profit after tax to £100.1m, with customer numbers up 23.1% to 224,000.

Distribution and outsourcing group Bunzl saw its shares rise after it announced that the current chairman of Galliford Try, Peter Ventress, will succeed Philip Rogerson as chairman.

On the downside, doorstep lender Provident Financial was in the red as it published a letter from one of its shareholders - M&G - saying it will not back the takeover offer from smaller rival Non-Standard Finance.

Sports Direct nudged lower after confirming that it has agreed to sell the freehold to its Shirebrook headquarters to Kwasa Logix Sportivo for just over £120m in cash.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,292.12 0.20%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,135.75 0.04%
techMARK (TASX) 3,523.08 -0.17%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Rio Tinto (RIO) 4,789.50p 3.18%
NMC Health (NMC) 2,499.00p 2.50%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 251.20p 1.99%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 198.50p 1.64%
Intertek Group (ITRK) 5,324.00p 1.56%
BHP Group (BHP) 1,827.00p 1.50%
Pearson (PSON) 813.20p 1.42%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 813.20p 1.40%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 3,562.00p 1.37%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 171.35p 1.30%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Auto Trader Group (AUTO) 589.80p -1.27%
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,563.60p -1.16%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 6,025.00p -1.05%
Smurfit Kappa Group (SKG) 2,236.00p -0.89%
Standard Life Aberdeen (SLA) 261.50p -0.83%
WPP (WPP) 946.20p -0.55%
Hiscox Limited (DI) (HSX) 1,646.00p -0.48%
Prudential (PRU) 1,586.50p -0.47%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 2,970.50p -0.47%
Compass Group (CPG) 1,808.00p -0.44%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Galliford Try (GFRD) 567.00p 5.29%
TI Fluid Systems (TIFS) 183.00p 3.27%
Amigo Holdings (AMGO) 222.00p 3.26%
Premier Oil (PMO) 86.93p 3.10%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 420.60p 2.89%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 227.50p 2.52%
Convatec Group (CTEC) 145.10p 2.51%
GVC Holdings (GVC) 601.00p 2.32%
Pets at Home Group (PETS) 187.80p 2.29%
Metro Bank (MTRO) 768.00p 2.13%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Intu Properties (INTU) 90.62p -3.60%
Workspace Group (WKP) 873.50p -2.67%
Quilter (QLT) 132.52p -2.00%
Acacia Mining (ACA) 157.80p -1.99%
Greencore Group (GNC) 204.60p -1.92%
Hilton Food Group (HFG) 1,022.00p -1.73%
Rank Group (RNK) 152.60p -1.68%
Ted Baker (TED) 1,415.10p -1.59%
Investec (INVP) 463.50p -1.49%
Brewin Dolphin Holdings (BRW) 301.40p -1.37%