London open: UK market reopens in positive territory after Christmas

The FTSE gained on Tuesday as the UK market reopened for trading after the Christmas break.

With little in the way of economic data or company news, the focus will likely be on commodities. At 0848 GMT Brent crude ticked up 0.2% to $36.72 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate rose 0.3% to $36.93 per barrel.

Metal prices also advanced with gold up 0.37%, silver up 0.34% and copper up 1.92% on the Comex.

Meanwhile, the floods across the UK may affect trading, according to Spreadex financial analyst Connor Campbell.

“With estimates suggesting a cost of £5 billion-plus, the tragic flooding of the past few weeks could have a destabilising effect on the FTSE this Tuesday, especially with thin trading volumes and little economic data to distract investors,” he said.

In England and Wales there are nine severe flood warnings , mostly in York which was hit by flooding on Saturday.

In China, the central bank’s deputy governor Pan Gongsheng will replace Yi Gang as head of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange while keeping his role at the central bank, Caixin magazine reported.

On the company front, Dairy Crest gained as it confirmed it had completed the sale of its Dairies operations to Müller UK & Ireland Group.

Mining stocks were the biggest fallers, including Anglo American, Fresnillo and Rio Tinto, while housebuilders Persimmon and Berkeley Group rallied.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 6,274.50 0.32%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 17,488.30 0.42%
techMARK (TASX) 3,244.05 0.74%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 2,322.00p 3.15%
Persimmon (PSN) 2,022.00p 2.48%
Relx plc (REL) 1,207.00p 2.29%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 3,691.00p 2.16%
BT Group (BT.A) 475.95p 1.91%
Compass Group (CPG) 1,182.00p 1.90%
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,510.00p 1.89%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,194.00p 1.79%
Wolseley (WOS) 3,741.00p 1.60%
National Grid (NG.) 949.00p 1.50%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Anglo American (AAL) 314.60p -4.10%
BP (BP.) 357.70p -2.25%
RSA Insurance Group (RSA) 423.00p -1.83%
Pearson (PSON) 754.50p -1.76%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 457.00p -1.21%
Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 1,539.50p -1.12%
Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 1,555.00p -1.02%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 583.20p -0.98%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 1,988.50p -0.90%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 590.00p -0.84%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Allied Minds (ALM) 405.00p 4.65%
Genus (GNS) 1,596.00p 2.64%
Aldermore Group (ALD) 234.40p 2.36%
Vesuvius (VSVS) 353.60p 2.14%
Redrow (RDW) 471.90p 2.10%
Crest Nicholson Holdings (CRST) 556.50p 2.02%
Bovis Homes Group (BVS) 1,009.00p 1.97%
Shawbrook Group (SHAW) 347.50p 1.97%
Bellway (BWY) 2,784.00p 1.90%
Worldwide Healthcare Trust (WWH) 1,970.00p 1.81%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Evraz (EVR) 73.80p -2.70%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 174.50p -2.40%
Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group (JLT) 927.50p -2.32%
Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 793.50p -1.86%
Serco Group (SRP) 100.00p -1.77%
Genesis Emerging Markets Fund Ltd Ptg NPV (GSS) 448.10p -1.65%
PayPoint (PAY) 930.00p -1.59%
AA (AA.) 310.10p -1.52%
Vedanta Resources (VED) 279.90p -1.44%
Debenhams (DEB) 73.15p -1.28%