Sector movers: Metals and tech help markets rebound

Industrial metals and technology hardware helped the London markets rebound from Wednesday’s losses, buoyed by a higher than expected increase in Chinese lending figures.

The FTSE 100 closed up 69.06 points (1.1%) at 6,338.67, while the FTSE ended at 16,949.50, up 137.99 points (0.82%).

At 1548 BST, the Brent front-month futures contract was down 0.94% to $48.69 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate fell 1.59% to $45.90 per barrel. Oil prices continued to drop due to worries about oversupply and slowing demand.

Data from the American Petroleum Institute showing US crude stocks rose by 9.4m barrels in the week to 9 October added to concerns about oversupply in the market.

Base metals were mostly up halfway through the LME session, with three-month futures contracts of lead (up 2.0%), copper (up 1.4), nickel (up 2.0%), tin (up 1.9%), and zinc (up 0.9%) all helping the industrial metals sector lead the market. The only metal price to drop was primary aluminium (down 0.1%).

Technology hardware and equipment was another big sector to rise, with ARM Holdings following suit of its US listing. It comes after reports that US-based Analog Devices and Maxim Integrated Products are in merger talks, boosting the entire semi-conductor industry across the Atlantic.

And the financial services sector got a boost with news from Man Group that total funds under management (FUM) of $76.8bn at 30 September 2015 was up 2.5%. On top of that, Hargreaves Lansdown rose on the back of a number of brokers, including JPMorgan and RBC, upgraded the company’s price target.