FTSE 100 movers: Miners lead index on Clinton FBI relief rally
The FTSE 100 had one of its best days in the last two months as mining stocks in particular rose along with most global markets, seemingly on the expectation that the more conventional candidate appeared likely to win the US presidential election.
After the US Federal Bureau of Investigation confirmed that Democrat nominee Hillary Clinton would not be subject to any criminal proceedings, with a resultant rise in the dollar against the pound, among others, also seen as benefiting many of London's blue chips.
Miners were the main beneficiaries, with top rising stocks led by Antofagasta, Glencore, Anglo American, BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto.
One miner that missed out was Fresnillo, as the Mexican silver miner fell over 2% after a double hit from a slumping silver price and a stronger Mexican peso, which is a big proxy for anti-Donald Trump sentiment. The gold price was also smashed back down to $1,285, also the weakest since FBI chief James Comey first brought Clinton's email server back into the spotlight.
HSBC was a strong riser as it unveiled better underlying third quarter profits than were forecast. Although reported profits crashed 86% due to losses from selling its Brazil business, adjusted profits which excluded beat expectations.
"The rise in underlying profits in combination with a solid core tier one capital ratio suggest the restructuring of HSBC is coming together in a measured way, and improves the outlook for the dividend," said Jasper Lawler, an analyst at CMC Markets.
Burberry was also strutting higher, ahead of its interim results on Wednesday. A recent second quarter update showed like-for-like sales improving.
Utilities stocks were lower, with analysts suggesting either bond yields bouncing back after the FBI news or record coal prices as possible reasons.
Shares in Tesco were down after the company's wholly owned bank revealed around 40,000 customers had been hit by "suspicious transactions" online over the weekend, with around half that number having money taken from their accounts.
After some account holders reported as much as £600 had been siphoned from their accounts, Tesco Bank chief executive Benny Higgins confirmed on Monday that some current accounts had been "subject to online criminal activity" with some seeing "money being withdrawn fraudulently".
He added: "That is why, as a precautionary measure, we have taken the decision today to temporarily stop online transactions from current accounts."
FTSE 100 - Risers
Antofagasta (ANTO) 561.50p 5.64%
Glencore (GLEN) 249.90p 5.09%
Anglo American (AAL) 1,122.50p 4.76%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,219.50p 4.59%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 621.20p 4.44%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 2,823.50p 3.52%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,460.00p 3.18%
Shire Plc (SHP) 4,559.50p 2.97%
Mediclinic International (MDC) 903.50p 2.90%
Old Mutual (OML) 192.40p 2.61%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Fresnillo (FRES) 1,589.00p -2.22%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 912.00p -1.25%
National Grid (NG.) 1,005.00p -1.18%
Severn Trent (SVT) 2,222.00p -1.11%
Tesco (TSCO) 200.55p -0.96%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 6,730.00p -0.88%
Centrica (CNA) 208.60p -0.86%
Worldpay Group (WPG) 279.90p -0.74%
Croda International (CRDA) 3,243.00p -0.49%
BT Group (BT.A) 359.80p -0.48%