London open: FTSE in the black as miners rally

(Sharecast News) - London stocks rose in early trade on Monday, with miners pacing the advance as sentiment was boosted by a further easing of Covid restrictions in Beijing and Shanghai, and as investors scaled back Federal Reserve rate hike expectations. At 0835 BST, the FTSE 100 was up 0.6% at 7,249.51.

Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said: "The more recent relief in sentiment has resulted in a number of factors suggesting that an inflection point may have been reached.

"On the one hand, the recent slide in commodity prices - such as copper having fallen some 25% from its recent peak in March - has eased some inflationary concerns, while oil has also reigned in gains despite the obvious current demand/supply imbalance.

"In addition, there are occasions when bad news can be good news. A record low in US consumer confidence level raised hopes that the Federal Reserve may begin to consider a lighter touch in its approach to tightening after the likely July hike. It also raised the possibility that the so-called 'terminal rate' may be approaching, with the current consensus being that rates will reach 3.5% by March, down from a previous estimate of 4%.

"With the larger US banks receiving a boost after having comfortably passed the latest set of stress tests and with the possibility of another spike in prices generally as the quarter-end rebalancing comes into focus, there could be room for manoeuvre in terms of further gains.

"Even so, investors will need further evidence that the current stabilisation reflects the market having found a bottom, as opposed to simply being oversold, and the main indices still remain sharply lower."

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

Elsewhere, consumer goods and healthcare company PZ Cussons rose 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 continued to advance 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 was also in the red as it delayed the release of its full-year results after auditor Deloitte requested additional time to complete audit procedures in relation to the company's ongoing landfill tax enquiry.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,249.51 0.56% FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,236.50 0.59% techMARK (TASX) 4,335.98 0.31%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Rio Tinto (RIO) 5,144.00p 3.31% Glencore (GLEN) 460.25p 3.14% Anglo American (AAL) 3,161.50p 3.11% Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,221.00p 3.08% Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 83.12p 2.69% Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 748.60p 2.13% Shell (SHEL) 2,125.00p 1.80% Fresnillo (FRES) 800.80p 1.75% Harbour Energy (HBR) 360.90p 1.63% Mondi (MNDI) 1,499.50p 1.56%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Ocado Group (OCDO) 848.00p -2.60% JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 118.10p -0.84% Rightmove (RMV) 573.60p -0.76% Reckitt Benckiser Group (RKT) 6,202.00p -0.70% Centrica (CNA) 80.64p -0.64% Abrdn (ABDN) 170.05p -0.53% Compass Group (CPG) 1,689.00p -0.47% B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI) (BME) 383.60p -0.47% Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 1,807.00p -0.44% Diageo (DGE) 3,646.50p -0.33%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Ferrexpo (FXPO) 144.90p 3.50% Carnival (CCL) 782.00p 3.33% Centamin (DI) (CEY) 83.40p 3.14% Bytes Technology Group (BYIT) 452.80p 3.00% Smithson Investment Trust (SSON) 1,244.00p 2.64% XP Power Ltd. (DI) (XPP) 2,960.00p 2.60% Watches of Switzerland Group (WOSG) 813.50p 2.52% Tullow Oil (TLW) 48.92p 2.47% Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 2,034.00p 2.44% Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 553.80p 2.44%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Polymetal International (POLY) 190.00p -5.00% Biffa (BIFF) 397.40p -2.36% Indivior (INDV) 308.40p -1.34% ASOS (ASC) 877.00p -1.29% Future (FUTR) 1,767.00p -1.01% Babcock International Group (BAB) 307.00p -0.97% Just Group (JUST) 75.40p -0.85% TR Property Inv Trust (TRY) 383.00p -0.65% Hays (HAS) 115.60p -0.60% Premier Foods (PFD) 114.40p -0.52%