China helps FTSE hit sixmonth peak

European markets followed the gains made by their counterparts across the pond, with the FTSE 100 hitting a six-month peak as traders cheered on data from China and a falling pound.

London’s blue-chip index closed up 64.75 points, or 0.85 per cent, to 7,674.56, after hitting highs of 7,689.67 earlier in the day.

Positive data came out of China during the day, with its economy growing by 6.1 per cent in 2019.

It caps off the lowest year of growth for nearly three decades, said CMC Markets analyst David Madden, as the country was hit by tensions with the US. However, markets were happy by the lack of surprises in the data.

Madded added that while the country’s economy has been slowing, remedies seem to be bearing fruit. “In recent months the Chinese authorities have been introducing measures to spur on economic activity, such as loosening lending restrictions, and the tactics appear to be working.”

The FTSE was also buoyed by a falling pound, which lost 0.36 per cent of its value against the dollar, to $1.3029. When buying euros, sterling was worth just 0.01 per cent more at €1.1744.

In company news, Mr Kipling maker Premier Foods tucked into higher sales in the third quarter. But investors were less impressed by the 2.6 per cent increase in sales – and its shares ended the session down by 1p to 42p.

Meanwhile, Ladbrokes owner GVC fell 23.2p to 910.6p, even as it said its trading performance over 2019 had been “excellent”.

The betting giant said earnings before tax and interest were at the top end of its expectations of £670 million to £680m.