London close: Stocks end up as rising copper prices boost miners

(Sharecast News) - London stocks reversed earlier gains to end higher on Wednesday as a jump in copper prices lifted the heavily-weighted mining sector. The FTSE 100 closed up 0.3% at 9,250.43.

Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG, said: "Gains in copper have given miners a boost this afternoon, which has resulted in the index making an impressive recovery off the lows of the session.

"European markets as a whole have had a better day thanks to a rising dollar and renewed government shutdown worries in the US. JD Sports has spent the day trying to rally but the gloomy tone of this morning's interims is bound to leave investors disappointed."

Antofagasta, Anglo American and Glencore all rallied in tandem with copper prices.

Elsewhere, defence firms BAE Systems and Babcock rose after US President Donald Trump said he believes Kyiv can "win all of Ukraine back in its original form". He made the statement on Truth Social after meeting Ukrainian president Zelensky in New York.

Neil Wilson, UK investor strategist at Saxo Markets, said: "Defence stocks were among the big gainers after Donald Trump agreed Nato countries should shoot down Russian aircraft that violate their airspace, and backed Ukraine to reclaim all its territory lost to Russia - with EU funds of course."

Retailer JD Sports Fashion fell as it reported a drop in interim profits and struck a cautious note on the outlook for the trading environment. It flagged consumer finances, a weaker jobs market and changes in the footwear product cycle.

On the upside, JD also said the financial impact from US tariff exposure in the current year was likely to be limited and that it remained on track to meet forecasts for full-year pre-tax profits before adjusting items.

Saga rallied as it said full-year underlying pre-tax profit was set to be in line with market expectations after a better-than-expected first half, driven by continued strength in the travel segment.

Pinewood Technologies posted a rise in first-half profit and revenue and set new medium-term guidance, but shares fell as the company pointed to a one-time accounting impact and the delay of an implementation with customer Marshall.

Online classifieds portals operator Baltic Classifieds tumbled as it warned on full-year profits and revenue, pointing to a depressed Estonian car market.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 9,250.43 0.29% FTSE 250 (MCX) 21,690.52 -0.02% techMARK (TASX) 5,422.61 -0.18%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Antofagasta (ANTO) 2,644.00p 9.35% Anglo American (AAL) 2,661.00p 4.31% Babcock International Group (BAB) 1,223.00p 3.73% Glencore (GLEN) 330.20p 2.93% BAE Systems (BA.) 1,990.50p 2.02% Rentokil Initial (RTO) 363.70p 1.54% Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (DI) (CCEP) 6,680.00p 1.52% Imperial Brands (IMB) 3,127.00p 1.49% BP (BP.) 438.10p 1.46% Persimmon (PSN) 1,127.00p 1.39%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,115.50p -2.41% Ashtead Group (AHT) 5,116.00p -2.10% Fresnillo (FRES) 2,296.00p -2.05% CRH (CDI) (CRH) 8,430.00p -1.86% IMI (IMI) 2,254.00p -1.83% Weir Group (WEIR) 2,654.00p -1.56% Convatec Group (CTEC) 235.20p -1.51% 3i Group (III) 3,876.00p -1.50% Smiths Group (SMIN) 2,264.00p -1.48% Metlen Energy & Metals (MTLN) 48.22p -1.38%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Hays (HAS) 55.70p 3.72% Ocado Group (OCDO) 230.80p 3.31% Diversified Energy Company (DEC) 1,082.00p 3.05% OSB Group (OSB) 563.00p 2.74% Lion Finance Group (BGEO) 7,665.00p 2.61% B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI) (BME) 264.70p 2.56% Pagegroup (PAGE) 229.40p 2.41% Vietnam Enterprise Investments (DI) (VEIL) 744.00p 2.20% QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 527.00p 2.03% Investec (INVP) 577.50p 2.03%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Pinewood Technologies Group (PINE) 455.00p -13.99% Baltic Classifieds Group (BCG) 298.50p -5.54% Bridgepoint Group (Reg S) (BPT) 301.40p -4.56% Victrex plc (VCT) 704.00p -3.43% C&C Group (CDI) (CCR) 140.80p -2.63% Future (FUTR) 674.00p -2.60% Volution Group (FAN) 608.00p -2.56% W.A.G Payment Solutions (EWG) 98.00p -2.49% Alpha Group International (ALPH) 4,082.50p -2.45% Carnival (CCL) 2,058.00p -2.37%