London midday: Stocks rise ahead of Carney's testimony

At the midday mark the FTSE 100 crept back above 7,000 while the pound fell 0.09% to $1.2227.

“For the FTSE and the pound it’s a rather empty day, the main item on the agenda being Mark Carney’s testimony about the economic consequences of the Brexit vote,” said Connor Campbell, financial analyst at Spreadex.

“That, however, isn’t until an hour before the market closes, meaning both instruments have a long day ahead of them with not a lot to fill it. “

Carney is due to deliver his testimony at the House of Lords at 1535 BST.

In other UK news, the government has approved a third runway for Heathrow. The decision ends a long-running dispute over whether to expand at Heathrow or Gatwick.

“Heathrow will be a key linchpin in enabling post-Brexit trade and this decision provides reassurance to manufacturers that access to direct, efficient and cost-effective trade routes to the rest of the world will be backed by action and not just words,” said Terry Scuoler, chief executive at EEF.

Elsewhere, a report from the Ifo Institute showed German business confidence rose to the highest level in more than two years in October. Ifo’s business climate index climbed to 110.5 from 109.5 in September, beating expectations of 109.6.

The current assessment index increased to 115 in October from 114.7 last month, while the expectations index rose to a 30-month high of 106.1 from 104.5 in September.

“These are strong data, and suggest that the German economy started the fourth quarter on a very strong note,” said Claus Vistesen, chief eurozone economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.

“Indeed, if we continue to see these numbers, it would suggest that GDP growth is accelerating.”

On the company front, mining shares were led higher by Anglo American after the group reiterated its full year guidance and reported an increase in third quarter production of diamond, nickel and iron ore.

Copper miner Antofagasta was another top riser as the red metal’s prices jumped.

GKN shares declined after it warned of tough market conditions in a trading update for the nine month to 30 September.

Whitbread slumped as the company reported an increase in first half profits at its Premier Inn hotels arm but a dip in profits from Costa coffee shops.

Intu Properties was on the back foot as it cautioned that new rental incomes might grow more slowly in 2017.

Standard Chartered edged lower after being downgraded by RBC Capital Markets to an ‘underperform’ rating from ‘sector perform’ on Monday.

Royal Bank of Scotland dropped after Investec cut its rating to ‘sell’ from ‘hold’ and its price target to 185p from 200p.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,020.21 0.48%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 17,808.36 -0.29%
techMARK (TASX) 3,444.37 0.32%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Anglo American (AAL) 1,105.50p 3.75%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 541.50p 3.14%
BT Group (BT.A) 389.05p 3.01%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 2,754.50p 2.95%
Glencore (GLEN) 243.95p 2.67%
St James's Place (STJ) 972.00p 2.42%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 7,100.00p 1.65%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 226.95p 1.59%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,243.00p 1.55%
Centrica (CNA) 217.10p 1.50%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Whitbread (WTB) 3,702.00p -3.67%
GKN (GKN) 315.00p -2.54%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 395.70p -2.25%
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 184.20p -2.02%
Travis Perkins (TPK) 1,371.00p -1.51%
Next (NXT) 4,736.00p -1.48%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 701.90p -1.40%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 736.00p -1.34%
Intu Properties (INTU) 287.70p -1.20%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 240.00p -1.07%

FTSE 250 - Risers

National Express Group (NEX) 369.80p 4.02%
Phoenix Group Holdings (DI) (PHNX) 755.50p 3.90%
OneSavings Bank (OSB) 294.40p 3.19%
Kaz Minerals (KAZ) 274.10p 3.08%
TalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) 209.70p 2.84%
Acacia Mining (ACA) 538.50p 2.57%
Vedanta Resources (VED) 697.00p 2.27%
SEGRO (SGRO) 449.10p 2.07%
Petra Diamonds Ltd.(DI) (PDL) 150.70p 2.03%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 292.00p 2.03%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Howden Joinery Group (HWDN) 377.10p -5.37%
Laird (LRD) 158.60p -5.31%
Aldermore Group (ALD) 168.20p -4.32%
Countrywide (CWD) 193.40p -4.26%
Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 273.00p -3.40%
Shawbrook Group (SHAW) 235.40p -3.25%
Greencoat UK Wind (UKW) 113.60p -2.74%
AO World (AO.) 169.40p -2.70%
Softcat (SCT) 328.90p -2.66%
CLS Holdings (CLI) 1,540.00p -2.53%