London close: Stocks gain on positive data out of China
London equity markets finished higher with sentiment buoyed by a surprise jump in Chinese exports, but the FTSE 100 underperformed its European peers as a host of stocks went ex-dividend.
The top-flight index was up by 1.21% at 7,285.90 and the FTSE 250 added 1.04% to 19,137.61, while the pound was drifting 0.1% lower against the US dollar and the euro at 1.21371 and 1.0823, respectively.
Chinese customs data showed that exports rose 3.3% in July from a year earlier despite the Sino-US trade war, beating expectations of a 2% drop and marking the biggest increase since March. Meanwhile, imports fell 5.6%, but this was still better than the 8.3% decline expected and an improvement on June's 7.3% drop.
"European and US stock markets are on the rise this afternoon, as the fightback continues in the wake of the global selloff," said IG's Josh Mahony.
"While there are precious few signs that point towards a solution to the US-China standoff, part of the relief being felt throughout markets emanates from better-than-expected trade data out of China. With exports growing, and the manufacturing PMI starting to rise, there are tentative signs that the Chinese economy is finding some form of stability in their export-driven economy."
A further boost to investor sentiment came from the People's Bank of China decision overnight to set its daily reference rate for the yuan at 7.0039 per dollar, while it was the weakest level for the currency since April 2008, economists had been expecting an even softer fix of 7.0205 per dollar.
On home turf, the latest survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) showed that the UK housing market softened last month, with consumers increasingly cautious due to Brexit.
The RICS house balance declined to -9 in July from -1 in June, versus expectations for an unchanged reading.
Capital Economics said: "The latest RICS survey showed a housing market struggling to gather any upward momentum. With Brexit uncertainty poised to intensify in the coming months, we expect house prices and transactions to see little or no growth before 2020."
In equity markets, Hargreaves Lansdown surged as it reported a rise in annual profit and assets under administration following a "particularly strong" second half, and apologised to clients who were hit by the recent Woodford fund issues.
In the year to the end of June, pre-tax profit increased 5% to £305.8m, with revenue up 7% to £480.5m and assets under management 8% higher at £99.3bn. The company had a record 1.22 million active clients, up by 133,000 during the year and the total dividend was lifted 5% to 42p a share.
NMC Health was also on the rise as the UAE-based healthcare operator issued a statement to reassure investors following the recent slump in its share price, insisting that it was trading in line with management expectations and backing its full-year guidance.
FTSE 250 lender Funding Circle was higher as it said first-half losses widened but reiterated its guidance for the full year.
On the downside, insurer Hastings Group slumped as it said interim adjusted operating profit fell to £59.7m from £105.1m in the same period a year ago, impacted by the recent Ogden rate change.
TI Fluid Systems was on the back foot as it reported a drop in interim profit and revenue and said global light vehicle production volumes remain "challenging".
Bellway was weaker after the housebuilder said full-year pre-tax profit was expected to be in line with current market expectations as it built a record number of new homes, but cautioned that the operating margin was set to moderate further.
Aviva recovered from an early swoon after the insurer said it was reviewing the future of its Asia business, as it posted a 1% increase in first-half operating profit.
Ex-dividend stocks weighed, with AstraZeneca, BP, BT, Barclays, Diageo, Direct Line, Fresnillo and GlaxoSmithKline all in the frame. Greene King, Hiscox, IMI, Informa, Jupiter Fund Management, Lancashire Holdings, Lloyds, Man Group, PZ Cussons, Rentokil Initial, Rio Tinto, Spirent Communications, St Modwen Properties, Standard Chartered, Unilever and Vesuvius also went ex-div..
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,267.86 0.96%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,137.61 1.04%
techMARK (TASX) 3,846.61 0.95%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 2,050.00p 11.84%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 773.60p 5.97%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 869.60p 5.41%
NMC Health (NMC) 2,095.00p 4.75%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 1,208.00p 4.32%
BHP Group (BHP) 1,835.00p 4.26%
Smith (DS) (SMDS) 333.30p 4.06%
Anglo American (AAL) 1,864.40p 4.05%
Smurfit Kappa Group (SKG) 2,468.00p 3.87%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 2,232.00p 3.81%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
BT Group (BT.A) 173.56p -5.88%
Direct Line Insurance Group (DLG) 298.80p -2.64%
Standard Life Aberdeen (SLA) 256.00p -1.77%
Centrica (CNA) 67.56p -1.20%
Barclays (BARC) 145.92p -1.10%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 2,799.00p -1.10%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 49.76p -0.97%
RSA Insurance Group (RSA) 534.40p -0.93%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 4,148.50p -0.88%
Hiscox Limited (DI) (HSX) 1,577.00p -0.57%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 501.00p 8.11%
Funding Circle Holdings (FCH) 105.80p 6.87%
Cairn Energy (CNE) 159.70p 6.75%
Kaz Minerals (KAZ) 520.00p 4.75%
IWG (IWG) 411.00p 4.66%
CYBG (CYBG) 156.60p 4.12%
Renishaw (RSW) 3,600.00p 4.05%
Premier Oil (PMO) 71.54p 3.89%
Victrex plc (VCT) 1,963.00p 3.81%
Synthomer (SYNT) 292.20p 3.54%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
TI Fluid Systems (TIFS) 167.40p -14.94%
Greene King (GNK) 577.20p -3.38%
PZ Cussons (PZC) 207.50p -3.04%
Hastings Group Holdings (HSTG) 185.30p -2.98%
Tritax Big Box Reit (BBOX) 143.10p -2.52%
Savills (SVS) 925.00p -2.37%
Kainos Group (KNOS) 512.00p -2.29%
Ted Baker (TED) 909.00p -2.26%
Bellway (BWY) 2,817.00p -2.26%
Amigo Holdings (AMGO) 140.80p -2.22%