London midday: Stocks maintain gains as miners rally; Fed minutes eyed
London stocks were still in the black by midday on Wednesday, helped along by a strong showing in mining sector, as investors eyed the release of the minutes from the latest Federal Reserve meeting.
The FTSE 100 was up 0.5% at 7,138.45.
IG market analyst Joshua Mahony said: "All eyes turn towards the Fed minutes released later today, with shifts in economic projections and interest rates bringing sharp volatility when released last month. One of the most notable events of that meeting came with the shift in the dot plot to signal a likely two rate hikes in 2023. This marked a notable change in outlook over whether inflation will be persistent rather than simply fleeting.
"Given the growing differences between a relatively dovish BoE, and progressively hawkish Fed, GBPUSD traders will be expecting some fireworks should todays minutes continue to reiterate their potential pathway to higher rates in response to rising prices."
On home shores, a survey released earlier showed that house prices dipped for the first time this year in June as the stamp duty holiday started to wind down.
According to the latest Halifax house price index, the average house price eased 0.5% in June, the first monthly decline since January. On an annual basis, house price inflation was ahead 8.8%, although that was down on May’s 14-year high of 9.6%. The average UK property price is now £260,358.
Russell Galley, managing director of Halifax, said: "With the stamp duty holiday now being phased out, it was predicted that the market might start to lose some steam entering the latter half of the year, and it’s unlikely that those with mortgages approved in the early months of summer expected to benefit from the maximum tax break, given the time needed to complete transactions."
In equity markets, miners Anglo American, Antofagasta, Glencore, BHP, and Rio Tinto were all firmer as copper and iron ore prices rose.
Shell gushed higher as the oil giant said it plans to boost shareholder returns following a strong second quarter.
PageGroup rallied as the recruiter lifted its 2021 guidance, while Redrow gained after the housebuilder said it expected 2022 revenues to exceed £2bn, driven by a strong order book and completion of a private rental sector project in London.
On the downside, 888 Holdings was weaker even as it said it expects adjusted annual core profit to be slightly higher despite higher costs and regulatory changes.
Private hospital operator Spire Healthcare lost ground as it delayed a vote on its takeover by Australia’s Ramsay Health Care after shareholders Fidelity International and Toscafund Asset Management reportedly rejected a final, improved offer. Spire said it was adjourning the meetings after "a number of investors" requested "a short extension to the process to allow them to exercise voting rights".
Pub chain Wetherspoons fell after saying it still expects to make a full-year loss as like-for-like sales have continued to fall despite easing Covid restrictions.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,138.45 0.53%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 22,988.89 0.41%
techMARK (TASX) 4,491.94 0.14%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Anglo American (AAL) 2,976.50p 2.62%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,439.50p 2.49%
Glencore (GLEN) 317.45p 2.40%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 5,540.00p 2.29%
BHP Group (BHP) 2,182.00p 2.27%
Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 3,104.00p 2.24%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 5,996.00p 1.89%
Experian (EXPN) 2,929.00p 1.84%
Evraz (EVR) 597.20p 1.81%
Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 1,447.20p 1.80%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Entain (ENT) 1,826.50p -2.30%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 182.82p -1.98%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 101.74p -1.85%
Informa (INF) 526.00p -1.79%
Associated British Foods (ABF) 2,224.00p -1.55%
Compass Group (CPG) 1,555.00p -1.08%
Flutter Entertainment (CDI) (FLTR) 13,490.00p -1.03%
BT Group (BT.A) 189.25p -0.99%
Diageo (DGE) 3,457.50p -0.49%
Smurfit Kappa Group (CDI) (SKG) 3,964.00p -0.40%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Capital & Counties Properties (CAPC) 171.80p 3.00%
Pagegroup (PAGE) 592.50p 2.95%
IG Group Holdings (IGG) 877.00p 2.75%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 302.00p 2.20%
BlackRock World Mining Trust (BRWM) 620.00p 1.97%
Network International Holdings (NETW) 378.90p 1.94%
Airtel Africa (AAF) 84.05p 1.88%
Shaftesbury (SHB) 597.50p 1.88%
Redrow (RDW) 641.20p 1.87%
Volution Group (FAN) 438.50p 1.86%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
888 Holdings (888) 392.40p -4.99%
BBGI Global Infrastructure S.A. NPV (DI) (BBGI) 170.20p -4.70%
Restaurant Group (RTN) 128.00p -3.76%
Spire Healthcare Group (SPI) 231.00p -2.94%
Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 285.60p -2.66%
Cineworld Group (CINE) 82.70p -2.04%
Playtech (PTEC) 436.20p -2.02%
National Express Group (NEX) 272.20p -1.87%
Carnival (CCL) 1,622.00p -1.86%
Biffa (BIFF) 329.50p -1.79%