FTSE 100 movers: Miners gain as metals prices rally; BP gushes lower
London's FTSE 100 was up 0.4% to 7,373.00 in afternoon trade, boosted by strength in the mining sector as investors braced for Prime Minister Theresa May to trigger Article 50 this week.
Heavily-weighted mining shares were the best performers amid rising base and precious metals prices, with Fresnillo, Antofagasta, Anglo American, Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, Glencore and Randgold all in the black.
On the downside, BT Group retreated following a strong performance at the end of last week when it agreed to legally separate its Openreach infrastructure arm. As it will still retain legal ownership of the assets and keep the unit within the wider group, analysts and investors felt it had dodged a bullet.
On Monday, HSBC reiterated its 'buy' rating on the stock and 425p price target, saying that its read of the compromise reached between the telecoms group and Ofcom is that BT has successfully defended its position, and that common sense has prevailed.
Oil giant BP - which was lifted last week by M&A rumours - gushed lower as oil prices had been on the slide earlier in the day after data from Baker Hughes on Friday showed the number of active rigs drilling for oil rose by eight to 617 last week, marking the eighth weekly rise.
Standard Life was also weaker after Berenberg downgraded the stock to 'hold' from 'buy' and cut the price target to 400p from 416p, saying the merger with Aberdeen Asset Management offers little upside and substantial risk.
Berenberg reckons the benefits, if any, rely more on a major change in fortune for Aberdeen’s funds than they do on any cost savings, and said the level of disruption that could be caused to Standard Life’s business is high.
Risers
Fresnillo (FRES) 1,435.00p 5.51%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 782.50p 4.61%
Capita (CPI) 569.50p 4.59%
Anglo American (AAL) 1,191.50p 4.47%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,300.00p 3.82%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,278.00p 2.69%
Glencore (GLEN) 317.65p 2.29%
easyJet (EZJ) 995.50p 1.89%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 6,960.00p 1.68%
Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,557.00p 1.63%
Fallers
BT Group (BT.A) 335.20p -2.12%
BP (BP.) 464.85p -1.24%
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 242.30p -1.10%
Standard Life (SL.) 376.80p -0.84%
Unilever (ULVR) 4,005.00p -0.76%
Centrica (CNA) 221.30p -0.67%
Pearson (PSON) 673.00p -0.52%
RSA Insurance Group (RSA) 589.00p -0.51%
CRH (CRH) 2,870.00p -0.49%
GKN (GKN) 369.70p -0.48%