FTSE hits year’s high as oil and metals fuel recovery

Jamie Nimmo

THE FTSE 100 hit a new high for the year today as the rally continued for London’s biggest listed companies.

The blue-chip index surged 79.75 points or 1.3% to 6322.14, its highest mark since early last December.

Buyers have returned to the capital’s stock market after recoveries both in oil — Brent crude is trading at $44.25 a barrel compared with $27 in January — and industrial metals such as iron ore and copper, which rose today after Chinese exports increased by more than expected.

Investors also reckon an interest rate rise from the Federal Reserve across the pond has now been punted further down the line. “The divergence of views between various Fed members is an underlying worry, but markets are viewing it as more of a future problem rather than a present concern,” Interactive Investor’s Rebecca O’Keeffe said.

The Footsie has risen 14% since midFebruary when it hit a three-year low.

The data from metals-hungry China saw the flood of City money continue to flow into mining stocks.

After losing three-quarters of its value last year, is already up 127% this year and rose 42.9p to 681.6p today, making the South African government’s deal for 11% of the shares in February look like a savvy bet.

climbed 5.2p to 414.9p as assets under manage- ment grew to £36.2 billion in the first three months of the year, shrugging off the volatility.

raced ahead on the mid-cap index, up 21.7p to 407.7p after a strong fourth quarter, but went in the opposite direction as deputy chairman Will Adderley dumped £73 million of shares in the soft furnishings group. The retailer fell 29.5p to 924p.

beat a retreat, down 2.75p at 274p, after private equit y backer H&F and the Duffy family sold all their shares for £61 million, six months after the hostel group’s float. Not only is former AIM favourite

— up 0.7p at 7.3p — not for widows or orphans (as tipsters used to s ay of t he t ro ubl e d Kurdi s t a n oi l explorer), it’s not for activist investors either. M&G, one of its largest shareholders, which fell out with management in 2013, has sold its stake in the firm, which has crashed 96% since their spat.

leapt 16.5p to new highs of 250p after the €18 million (£14.3 million) takeover of Italian rival Synthesis, which translates the popular Assassin’s Creed video game franchise.