London stocks were still firmly in the black by midday on Thursday as concerns about inflation eased, with miners pacing the advance.
The FTSE 100 was up 0.7% at 7,194.88.
IG market analyst Chris Beauchamp said: “Equity markets appear to have shaken off their caution of recent weeks and are moving higher in unison this morning. Yesterday’s strong US CPI print and this morning’s robust Chinese PPI figure have not dented investor enthusiasm for stocks, after US earnings season got off to a good start from JPMorgan.
“The earnings call provided plenty of reasons to be cheerful, with the bank noting that the overall US recovery was intact and credit demand was still strong. LVMH’s numbers this week built on this theme, and TSMC’s figures overnight reinforced the view of a global economy that is still moving in the right direction, albeit at a slower place. Having dropped back in an orderly fashion into earnings season, it seems stock markets have now reached a level at which investors are once again happy about buying the dip, hence the broad recovery in indices this morning.”
Miners were the standout gainers as metals prices rallied, with Antofagasta, Anglo American, Rio and Glencore all higher.
Dunelm was trading up after the homeware retailer reported a rise in first-quarter sales, but cautioned that supply-chain and inflationary pressures made the future outlook uncertain as it maintained full-year guidance.
Hays advanced as the recruiter posted a rise in first-quarter net fees, highlighting good growth in all regions.
On the downside, Qinetiq shares tumbled after the defence technology company warned that technical and supply chain issues on a large complex programme could lead to a one-off write down to its short-term guidance.
Tesco and Close Brothers were both weaker as they traded without entitlement to the dividend.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,194.88 0.74%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 22,775.95 0.62%
techMARK (TASX) 4,556.94 -0.22%
FTSE 100 – Risers
Anglo American (AAL) 2,887.50p 3.72%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,480.00p 3.35%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 176.56p 2.91%
Glencore (GLEN) 382.85p 2.85%
Polymetal International (POLY) 1,356.00p 2.81%
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,524.50p 2.80%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 5,053.00p 2.49%
Whitbread (WTB) 3,310.00p 2.35%
Intermediate Capital Group (ICP) 2,090.00p 2.30%
BHP Group (BHP) 1,963.00p 2.19%
FTSE 100 – Fallers
Tesco (TSCO) 266.25p -1.15%
Admiral Group (ADM) 2,975.00p -1.06%
Pearson (PSON) 723.80p -0.98%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 675.60p -0.97%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 4,237.00p -0.96%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 153.85p -0.93%
Associated British Foods (ABF) 1,794.00p -0.88%
Bunzl (BNZL) 2,493.00p -0.84%
Kingfisher (KGF) 327.70p -0.82%
SSE (SSE) 1,580.00p -0.60%
FTSE 250 – Risers
Harbour Energy (HBR) 384.40p 7.49%
Darktrace (DARK) 966.50p 6.85%
Baltic Classifieds Group (BCG) 208.00p 4.52%
Man Group (EMG) 228.00p 4.49%
Chrysalis Investments Limited NPV (CHRY) 234.00p 4.46%
Trustpilot Group (TRST) 376.80p 4.09%
Grainger (GRI) 307.60p 3.64%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 4,664.00p 3.48%
Discoverie Group (DSCV) 1,086.00p 3.43%
Reach (RCH) 348.00p 3.26%
FTSE 250 – Fallers
QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 292.40p -11.18%
Close Brothers Group (CBG) 1,500.00p -2.47%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 179.55p -1.67%
Domino’s Pizza Group (DOM) 380.40p -1.45%
Direct Line Insurance Group (DLG) 278.10p -1.42%
PureTech Health (PRTC) 350.00p -1.41%
Fidelity Emerging Markets Limited Ptg NPV (FEML) 854.00p -1.16%
Premier Foods (PFD) 109.40p -1.08%
NCC Group (NCC) 253.00p -0.98%
JTC (JTC) 788.00p -0.88%
