London midday: Stocks maintain gains as miners rally on China data
London stocks were off highs but still in the black by midday on Friday as miners were boosted by better-than-expected Chinese industrial production figures.
The FTSE 100 was up 0.8% at 5,785.58.
Sentiment was boosted after data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed that Chinese industrial output rose 3.9% in April from a year earlier compared to a 1.1% decline in March and coming in ahead of expectations for a 1.5% increase.
Joshua Mahony, senior market analyst at IG, said: "Overnight data from China highlights the potential pathway for European nations, with the Asian powerhouse continuing to see dour data despite the headway made against the virus. Unfortunately, the ability to bring down Covid-19 deaths does not necessarily bring a sharp economic bounceback.
"One area of optimism came from the Chinese industrial production figure, which rose back into positive territory to signal a potential pick-up in business activity. However, with global demand on the wane, there will continue to be questions over Chinese growth as a result of the worldwide lockdown."
Mining stocks - which are heavily dependent on demand from China - rallied on the data with Anglo, Glencore, Rio and BHP all up.
Elsewhere, BT was a high riser following a report it is in early-stage talks to sell a multibillion-pound stake in its infrastructure division, Openreach.
Cruise operator Carnival and budget airline easyJet, both of which have been hit hard on coronavirus worries, rallied.
Computacenter gained after saying business had picked up further since late April and that the first half of 2020 would be "considerably ahead" of the same period a year earlier.
Bookmaker William Hill surged after saying it was planning a phased re-opening of its UK betting shops in the second half as it reported a slump in sales during the coronavirus crisis.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 5,785.58 0.77%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 15,609.57 1.33%
techMARK (TASX) 3,548.30 0.55%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Anglo American (AAL) 1,441.20p 5.91%
BT Group (BT.A) 107.70p 5.48%
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,647.00p 4.97%
BHP Group (BHP) 1,417.80p 4.68%
Glencore (GLEN) 142.56p 4.47%
easyJet (EZJ) 506.20p 4.30%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,896.00p 3.98%
Evraz (EVR) 250.10p 3.73%
Carnival (CCL) 861.00p 3.49%
Fresnillo (FRES) 719.20p 3.28%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Next (NXT) 4,448.00p -2.69%
Ferguson (FERG) 5,708.00p -1.89%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 8,618.00p -1.77%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 242.60p -1.74%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 1,924.50p -1.61%
Flutter Entertainment (FLTR) 9,854.00p -1.59%
CRH (CRH) 2,265.00p -1.44%
3i Group (III) 787.40p -1.28%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 515.20p -1.23%
Associated British Foods (ABF) 1,644.50p -1.20%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 34.60p 12.70%
Hammerson (HMSO) 48.72p 11.80%
Computacenter (CCC) 1,474.00p 10.33%
National Express Group (NEX) 200.00p 9.77%
Royal Mail (RMG) 176.35p 8.32%
Provident Financial (PFG) 154.40p 7.07%
William Hill (WMH) 115.10p 6.84%
Paragon Banking Group (PAG) 332.20p 6.54%
Apax Global Alpha Limited (APAX) 128.00p 6.31%
Stagecoach Group (SGC) 54.20p 6.27%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
WH Smith (SMWH) 812.50p -7.03%
Polypipe Group (PLP) 382.00p -3.41%
Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 157.35p -2.75%
Countryside Properties (CSP) 297.20p -2.69%
RHI Magnesita N.V. (DI) (RHIM) 2,142.00p -2.37%
Tritax Big Box Reit (BBOX) 125.10p -2.27%
GVC Holdings (GVC) 730.60p -2.12%
Cineworld Group (CINE) 55.78p -2.07%
Airtel Africa (AAF) 38.45p -1.79%
Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) 222.80p -1.68%