London stocks had extended gains by midday on Wednesday as concerns about China’s Evergrande eased, with all eyes on the latest policy announcement from the US Federal Reserve.
The FTSE 100 was up 1.2% at 7,063.13.
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: “A lot can change in a week on the markets. Having seen some very bad days for equities in recent sessions, Europe and parts of Asia were more upbeat on Wednesday.
“So, what’s changed to make investors more confident? One key event is China’s troubled property developer Evergrande striking a deal over a bond repayment, thereby bringing a sense of relief to markets we might not see the business collapse – something that could cause ripples in multiple markets. Evergrande still has plenty of problems to fix including more bond payments later this week, but today’s deal would suggest catastrophe is not immediately around the corner.
“We also have the Federal Reserve issuing a policy statement later today and speculation is growing that we won’t get the dreaded tapering announcement at this event. That would be a massive relief to investors and could give further support to markets.”
In equity markets, Ladbrokes owner Entain racked up healthy gains again after saying that DraftKings had made a £16.4bn offer for the sports betting company. Peer 888 Holdings also rose, with traders pointing to positive readacross from the Entain news.
Flutter Entertainment advanced after the Paddy Power Betfair owner said it had settled in full a legal dispute with the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
Covid-19 vaccine producer Oxford Biomedica pushed higher after saying it swung to a profit in the half year on the back of a surge in revenues.
In terms of sectors, miners put in a strong performance as copper prices rallied, with Anglo American, Antofagasta, BHP, Glencore and Rio all higher.
On the downside, Imperial Leather maker PZ Cussons slumped after it posted higher full-year profits as sales of hygiene products soared, but said first-quarter sales had fallen against tough comparators during the height of the Covid pandemic.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,063.13 1.18%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 23,746.17 0.57%
techMARK (TASX) 4,739.36 0.37%
FTSE 100 – Risers
Entain (ENT) 2,436.00p 7.74%
Flutter Entertainment (CDI) (FLTR) 15,890.00p 4.06%
Anglo American (AAL) 2,573.00p 4.00%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,382.00p 3.99%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 373.50p 3.82%
Glencore (GLEN) 323.45p 3.67%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 424.80p 3.61%
Prudential (PRU) 1,407.50p 3.23%
Barclays (BARC) 180.30p 3.02%
BHP Group (BHP) 1,906.60p 2.96%
FTSE 100 – Fallers
Kingfisher (KGF) 345.10p -1.37%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 8,596.00p -1.31%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 2,360.00p -1.30%
Severn Trent (SVT) 2,784.00p -1.17%
Auto Trader Group (AUTO) 609.40p -1.10%
National Grid (NG.) 948.40p -0.97%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 1,035.50p -0.81%
Rightmove (RMV) 729.00p -0.63%
SSE (SSE) 1,652.50p -0.51%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) 7,936.00p -0.48%
FTSE 250 – Risers
888 Holdings (888) 483.40p 7.90%
Oxford Biomedica (OXB) 1,564.00p 5.82%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 215.20p 4.72%
Telecom Plus (TEP) 1,102.00p 4.36%
Investec (INVP) 289.40p 4.10%
Reach (RCH) 385.50p 3.77%
Hill & Smith Holdings (HILS) 1,862.00p 3.33%
Weir Group (WEIR) 1,714.50p 3.16%
Darktrace (DARK) 929.00p 3.05%
Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) 248.60p 2.81%
FTSE 250 – Fallers
PZ Cussons (PZC) 222.00p -3.69%
Trustpilot Group (TRST) 355.40p -3.11%
Bytes Technology Group (BYIT) 510.00p -3.04%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 357.90p -3.03%
Bridgepoint Group (Reg S) (BPT) 555.00p -2.46%
Restaurant Group (RTN) 110.20p -2.30%
National Express Group (NEX) 234.60p -2.25%
SSP Group (SSPG) 272.90p -2.01%
Petropavlovsk (POG) 21.08p -1.68%
CMC Markets (CMCX) 268.50p -1.65%
