London midday: Miners rise on Chinese easing, but Greek concerns limit gains

After a 2.3% surge on Friday following the Conservative election victory, the FTSE 100 was up a further 0.16% at 7,058.01 by midday, though it had pulled back after hitting an intraday high of 7,083.72 early on.

The last time the index finished higher was on 27 April when it set a new all-time closing high of 7,103.98.

"In mid-morning trading the FTSE 100 continues to enjoy a post-election bounce, but Eurozone markets are finding the going much tougher," said IG analyst Chris Beauchamp.

Greece remained in focus on the continent as the Eurogroup meets to discuss a cash-for-reforms deal with Athens ahead of a Tuesday deadline for a €750m repayment to the International Monetary Fund.

Nevertheless, the heavy weighting of the mining sector in the UK meant that London's stock markets were trading in positive territory following easing measures by the world's top metals consumer.

China on Sunday lowered interest rates overnight for the third time in six months in an effort to avert a slowdown. The People's Bank of China lowered its benchmark lending and deposit rates by 25 basis points each, following weaker-than-expected trade and inflation figures released last week.

"We have opined for some time now that the Chinese government had been showing signs of concern about slowing economic momentum […] We believe that further easing by the country’s central bank remains on the cards in 2015," said analyst Yuen Low from Shore Capital.

Closer to home, the Bank of England maintained its Bank Rate at 0.5% and the size of its asset purchase programme at £375bn at its policy meeting on Monday, as expected.

Mining stocks rise

Mining stocks were buoyed by the rate cut in top metals consumer China, with blue chips Anglo American, BHP Billiton, Glencore and Rio Tinto making decent gains.

Even platinum miner Lonmin was performing well after saying that it would cut up to 3,500 jobs on predictions that metal prices will remain low for at least the short term.

Oil and gas stocks such as Shell, BP, BG Group and Premier Oil were also on the rise.

A host of housebuilding stocks were performing well, including Barratt Developments, Taylor Wimpey and Persimmon, extending the surge seen on Friday following the general election. Companies in the sector had said that pre-election uncertainty was affecting the ability to secure planning persimmon for new developments.

British Gas owner Centrica was being boosted by a Deutsche Bank upgrade from 'sell' to 'hold', with the bank saying that the Conservative win "removes a significant political risk" posed by Labour's proposal.

Financial stocks were mostly weaker, including St James's Place, HSBC, Aberdeen Asset Management and Aviva. Aberdeen was being weighed down by a ratings cut by Societe Generale from 'buy' to 'hold'.

Life sciences, seals and controls outfit Diploma said acquisitions drove a 10% increase in interim revenues, but disappointed investors with a cautious outlook, saying it still sees "headwinds to organic growth".

Market Movers
techMARK 3,269.08 -0.00%
FTSE 100 7,058.01 +0.16%
FTSE 250 17,891.74 -0.25%

FTSE 100 - Risers
Royal Mail (RMG) 495.10p +3.38%
Sage Group (SGE) 558.00p +2.67%
3i Group (III) 513.50p +2.19%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 2,050.00p +1.99%
Anglo American (AAL) 1,137.50p +1.97%
Weir Group (WEIR) 1,917.00p +1.91%
Glencore (GLEN) 308.35p +1.90%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,052.00p +1.78%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,586.50p +1.67%
Tesco (TSCO) 232.50p +1.59%

FTSE 100 - Fallers
St James's Place (STJ) 943.50p -1.97%
CRH (CRH) 1,858.00p -1.75%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 2,779.00p -1.45%
Unilever (ULVR) 2,856.00p -1.31%
Aberdeen Asset Management (ADN) 446.10p -1.26%
Mondi (MNDI) 1,330.00p -1.26%
Associated British Foods (ABF) 2,894.00p -1.16%
Meggitt (MGGT) 521.00p -1.14%
Intu Properties (INTU) 339.90p -1.11%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 1,019.00p -1.07%

FTSE 250 - Risers
Indivior (INDV) 238.70p +4.33%
FirstGroup (FGP) 113.10p +3.57%
Soco International (SIA) 197.00p +3.52%
Supergroup (SGP) 1,102.00p +3.18%
Worldwide Healthcare Trust (WWH) 1,943.00p +3.08%
Vedanta Resources (VED) 678.00p +2.96%
AO World (AO.) 177.80p +2.77%
Premier Oil (PMO) 181.80p +2.77%
Man Group (EMG) 182.40p +2.64%
Home Retail Group (HOME) 168.70p +2.62%

FTSE 250 - Fallers
Diploma (DPLM) 811.50p -4.19%
Spirax-Sarco Engineering (SPX) 3,398.00p -4.07%
Smith (DS) (SMDS) 359.30p -3.44%
Inchcape (INCH) 845.00p -3.32%
Howden Joinery Group (HWDN) 480.50p -2.22%
Victrex plc (VCT) 1,997.00p -2.01%
Workspace Group (WKP) 849.50p -1.96%
IMI (IMI) 1,178.00p -1.83%
Genus (GNS) 1,398.00p -1.83%
Greencore Group (GNC) 343.90p -1.74%