London open: FTSE gains on China stimulus measures

At 0825 BST, the FTSE 100 was up 0.5% at 8,299.23.

Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said easing monetary policy continues to dominate the global narrative.

"Asian markets ripped as China announced a series of easing measures designed to stimulate the world’s second-largest economy," he said.

"The People’s Bank of China has delved into its bag of tricks to try to get growth back to the 5% target, including cuts to interest rates, mortgage rates, and down-payments for house buyers. This isn’t the central bank going all-in on stimulus, there’s plenty more left in the tank, but It’s a clear sign that it’s not going to sit back and watch growth disappoint.

"Brent oil futures are trading around $74.6 per barrel this morning, recouping losses from previous sessions as traders give supply concerns a slight edge over demand weakness. On the demand side, stimulus from China’s central bank should also act as a small tailwind given the region’s status as the world’s top oil consumer."

In equity markets, Prudential, Standard Chartered and Burberry - all of which are exposed to China - rallied.

Heavily-weighted miners also gained, with Antofagasta, Rio Tinto and Glencore among the top performers on the FTSE 100 as copper prices advanced.

On the downside, engineering solutions business Smiths Group was under the cosh as its full-year adjusted pre-tax profit missed estimates. The company also announced the acquisitions of two North American companies to bolt on to its HVAC and Flex-Tek businesses for a combined £110m.

Dunelm tumbled after its biggest shareholder, Will Adderley, and his private investment firm WA Capital, sold a 4.9% stake in the homeware retailer in a placing to institutional investors.

Barclays, which acted as sole global co-ordinator, said that WA Capital - which is controlled by Adderley and his wife - sold 10m shares at 1,140p each.

Recruiter SThree also fell as it reported an 8% drop in third-quarter net fees amid continued challenging market conditions.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 8,299.23 0.48%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,940.30 0.46%
techMARK (TASX) 4,799.08 0.05%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,924.50p 5.45%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 5,044.00p 4.44%
Glencore (GLEN) 401.70p 4.38%
Prudential (PRU) 662.80p 3.79%
Spirax Group (SPX) 7,320.00p 2.09%
easyJet (EZJ) 522.00p 1.79%
Croda International (CRDA) 4,030.00p 1.74%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 770.20p 1.69%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 365.50p 1.53%
Fresnillo (FRES) 604.50p 1.51%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,728.00p -5.05%
CRH (CDI) (CRH) 6,760.00p -1.29%
BAE Systems (BA.) 1,266.00p -0.71%
Haleon (HLN) 392.80p -0.66%
Tesco (TSCO) 364.00p -0.52%
Compass Group (CPG) 2,399.00p -0.50%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 1,049.50p -0.47%
SSE (SSE) 1,943.50p -0.46%
Unilever (ULVR) 4,857.00p -0.31%
National Grid (NG.) 1,041.00p -0.29%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Hilton Food Group (HFG) 932.00p 4.84%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 623.80p 4.14%
Fidelity China Special Situations (FCSS) 186.80p 3.78%
Essentra (ESNT) 153.00p 3.38%
Senior (SNR) 155.60p 2.91%
Helios Towers (HTWS) 115.00p 2.86%
Breedon Group (BREE) 430.00p 2.75%
Urban Logistics Reit (SHED) 127.40p 2.74%
Elementis (ELM) 165.60p 2.73%
Me Group International (MEGP) 195.00p 2.52%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

SThree (STEM) 377.50p -4.55%
Currys (CURY) 82.40p -2.72%
Computacenter (CCC) 2,410.00p -2.19%
Grainger (GRI) 233.50p -1.89%
Assura (AGR) 41.02p -1.77%
Bellway (BWY) 3,102.00p -1.40%
Apax Global Alpha Limited (APAX) 142.60p -1.25%
TR Property Inv Trust (TRY) 351.50p -1.13%
AJ Bell (AJB) 450.00p -0.88%
Edinburgh Worldwide Inv Trust (EWI) 151.00p -0.79%