Metal polish helps Footsie as mining firms shine

COMMODITY stocks increased yesterday, with a rebound in metal and oil prices lifting crude producers and Uk-listed miners.

It helped push the FTSE 100 up 0.2 per cent, or 14.27 points, to 7,577.49 points.

The blue chip index was led by the likes of Antofagasta, up 28.6p at 833.6p, Glencore, up 10.25p at 320.75p, Anglo American, up 39p at 1,575p, and Fresnillo, up 23p at 947.2p.

David Madden, a market analyst at CMC Markets UK, said: “Metals have had a rough ride this week, as dealers feel the trade dispute between the US and China will have a greater negative impact on the Chinese economy.

“China’s economy has been growing at a more moderate rate in recent years and its appetite for minerals has been waning.

“Platinum fell to a multi-year low this week, while copper and palladium reached levels not seen since last summer. There has been a small bounce back in metal prices today, and that has helped BHP Billiton, Anglo American and Rio Tinto.”

Oil giants were also among the biggest risers, with BP up 6.2p at 563.7p and Royal Dutch Shell B shares up 26.5p at 2,614p. It comes amid a 2% jump in the price of Brent crude to $76.20 per barrel.

The commodity fell amid worries over restricted global oil supplies, due to US sanctions on major producer Iran.

But prices were also bolstered by US inventory data from the Energy Information Administration that showed a much bigger than expected drop in stockpiles earlier this week.

Across Europe, the French CAC 40 and German DAX ended the day up 0.2% each.

In currencies, sterling was mixed rising 0.4% against the US dollar to 1.286 while falling 0.3% versus the euro to 1.105. The pairing was helped by a selloff on the dollar, but the pound was still feeling the effects of talk on “no-deal” Brexit plans.

In a bid to show the Government is prepared for all eventualities, Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab outlined on Thursday how the UK would handle leaving the EU without a trade deal with its continental partners.

Chancellor Philip Hammond also detailed how the UK economy would be knocked by a no-deal scenario, saying in a letter to Treasury select committee chairwoman Nicky Morgan that GDP would be 7.7% lower.

In UK stocks, Serco rose 2p to 100.6p after it signed a contract worth £75 million with the Australian Defence Force.

Petrofac shares rose 1.4p to 658p despite warning it would take a $55 million (£43m) hit on the sale of its shares in a project in the North Sea. The energy firm said it would offload its 20% stake in the Greater Stella area development and its 25% interest in the FPF1 floating rig, both in the North Sea.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Antofagasta, up 28.6p at 833.6p; Glencore, 10.25p at 320.75p; Anglo American, 39p at 1,575p, and Fresnillo, 23p at 947.2p. Biggest fallers were British American Tobacco, down 138.5p at 3,909p; Ocado Group, 35p at 1,079.5p; Berkeley Group Holdings, 65p at 3,635p; and United Utilities Group, 11.4p at 716.8p. THE benchmark S&P 500 stock index clinched its longest bull-market run yesterday, closing above its previous January high, as Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell affirmed the US central bank’s current pace of rate increases.

The S&P had last reached a new closing high on January 26, then retreated more than 10 per cent, a correction that lasted until February 8. Yesterday’s new closing high confirmed the index’s bull run remained intact.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 133.37 points, or 0.52%, to 25,790.35, the S&P 500 gained 17.71 points, or 0.62%, to 2,874.69 and the Nasdaq Composite added 67.52 points, or 0.86%, to 7,945.98.

For the week, the Dow added 0.47%, the S&P gained 0.87%, and the Nasdaq increased 1.66%.

The small-cap Russell 2000 index also advanced 0.5% to reach a new closing high.

Netflix Inc shares rose 5.8% to add the most gains to the S&P 500 after Suntrust Robinson Humphrey upgraded its rating on the stock to “buy” and projected that third-quarter subscriber growth would match or beat Wall Street estimates.

Autodesk Inc shares leaped 15.3%, the greatest percentage gain among S&P 500 stocks, after the software maker’s quarterly results beat estimates.

Shares of Gap Inc (GPS.N) and Foot Locker Inc sank 8.6% and 9.2%, respectively, after the two retailers posted disappointing same-store sales.