London close: Stocks start week on front foot with miners pacing gains

(Sharecast News) - London stocks were firmer by midday at the start of the week, with miners pacing the advance as sentiment was boosted by a further easing of Covid restrictions in Beijing and Shanghai, G7 leaders announced plans for a multi-billion dollar infrastructure package and as investors scaled back Federal Reserve rate hike expectations.

Investors were also in a bit of a holding pattern ahead of the European Central Bank´s Forum in Sintra, Portugal, on Wednesday, where the heads of the Bank of England, US Federal Reserve and ECB were all due to deliver speeches.

The FTSE 100 was up 0.69% at 7,258.32, alongside a 1.02% jump on the second-tier index to 19,318.95.

"A mixed start to the new trading week, one in which the bulk of the big market-moving events are due from Wednesday onwards," judged Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda.

"That may make for choppy trading over the next couple of days, in keeping with what we've seen so far in Europe.

"We will still hear from some central bank policymakers in that time which could send ripples through the markets but again, the biggest of these will also come on Wednesday, when Fed Chair Powell, ECB President Lagarde and BoE Governor Bailey all appear on a panel at the ECB Forum."

In equity markets, miners were the standout performers, with Anglo American, Glencore, Rio Tinto and Antofagasta all sharply higher.

"Miners have started on the front foot, helped by the plans for a potential $600 billion global infrastructure boost, which was unveiled at the G7 summit [at the weekend]," said Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.

"It's hoped this scheme, seen as a counter to China's Belt and Road Initiative, will set off a spurt of spending and demand for commodities around the world, triggered by the $200 billion pledged by the US. But there are already some concerns about the watering down of commitments amid escalating costs of some planned projects due to inflationary pressures."

Elsewhere, consumer goods and healthcare company PZ Cussons plummeted after saying it expected annual group revenue of around £590m with like-for-like growth of 3%. The maker of Imperial Leather soap said growth was driven by price/mix as it maintained full-year profits guidance.

Cruise operator Carnival edged up following a well-received second-quarter update at the end of last week.

On the downside, online supermarket Ocado was knocked lower by a downgrade to 'neutral' at Credit Suisse.

Biffa fell as it delayed the release of its full-year results after auditor Deloitte requested additional time to complete its audit procedures in relation to the company's ongoing landfill tax enquiry.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,258.32 0.69% FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,318.95 1.02% techMARK (TASX) 4,339.11 0.38%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,223.00p 3.25% Standard Chartered (STAN) 605.80p 2.78% Prudential (PRU) 1,009.00p 2.31% Severn Trent (SVT) 2,853.00p 2.29% United Utilities Group (UU.) 1,035.00p 2.27% Harbour Energy (HBR) 363.10p 2.25% Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,430.50p 2.25% Kingfisher (KGF) 248.70p 2.22% Anglo American (AAL) 3,133.50p 2.20% Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 749.00p 2.18%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Abrdn (ABDN) 166.85p -2.40% Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,664.00p -2.00% BT Group (BT.A) 184.95p -1.88% Ocado Group (OCDO) 860.00p -1.22% Sage Group (SGE) 641.60p -0.74% Flutter Entertainment (CDI) (FLTR) 8,730.00p -0.68% Avast (AVST) 523.40p -0.65% Reckitt Benckiser Group (RKT) 6,208.00p -0.61% Aveva Group (AVV) 2,449.00p -0.57% Tesco (TSCO) 254.40p -0.39%

FTSE 250 - Risers

ICG Enterprise Trust (ICGT) 1,072.00p 7.31% Abrdn Private Equity Opportunities Trust (APEO) 477.00p 6.47% Chrysalis Investments Limited NPV (CHRY) 122.40p 4.97% Kainos Group (KNOS) 1,124.00p 4.66% Molten Ventures (GROW) 463.80p 4.51% HarbourVest Global Private Equity Limited A Shs (HVPE) 2,125.00p 4.17% BlackRock World Mining Trust (BRWM) 614.00p 4.07% Herald Investment Trust (HRI) 1,662.00p 3.88% Discoverie Group (DSCV) 654.00p 3.65% JPMorgan European Discovery Trust (JEDT) 390.50p 3.57%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Helios Towers (HTWS) 122.00p -3.02% Babcock International Group (BAB) 301.20p -2.84% Polymetal International (POLY) 202.90p -2.50% Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 530.00p -2.40% Dunelm Group (DNLM) 814.00p -2.40% Drax Group (DRX) 640.00p -2.22% Biffa (BIFF) 398.60p -2.11% Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) 157.30p -1.99% ITV (ITV) 67.76p -1.91% Currys (CURY) 73.00p -1.82%