LONDON MARKETS: FTSE 100 Gains As Miners, Oil Majors Brighten
July 25 2017 - 6:52AM
Dow Jones News
By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
Jimmy Choo rallies on Kors deal
U.K. blue-chip stocks advanced Tuesday, with gains for miners
and oil companies helping the market's benchmark chip away at a
sharp loss logged in the previous session.
The FTSE 100 index popped up 0.8% to 7,434.54, with only the
consumer goods sector moving lower.
Also catching attention in London trade was a $1.2 billion deal
to buy luxury shoe maker Jimmy Choo
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/michael-kors-to-buy-shoemaker-jimmy-choo-in-12-billion-deal-2017-07-25-2915839)PLC
(CHOO.LN) by fashion house Michael Kors Holdings Ltd. (KORS) .
Shares of Jimmy Choo jumped 17% to GBP2.28 off the FTSE 100.
"A healthy start from the commodity sector -- itself aided by a
$49 per barrel-eyeing rise from Brent crude and copper's continued
climb -- alongside a fairly muted open from the pound allowed the
FTSE to surge back across 7,400," said Spreadex financial analyst
Connor Campbell in a note.
But "with the back end of the week bringing one of the busiest
corporate calendars of the year ... the FTSE may want to enjoy the
day's relatively uncomplicated trading while it lasts," he
said.
Resources rev up: Mining shares were among top performers, with
copper prices bouncing up more than 2%, aided by recent softness in
the U.S. dollar . That currency will be in focus as the Federal
Reserve begins its two-day policy meeting on Tuesday.
Copper producer Antofagasta PLC (ANTO.LN) was up 2.9%, and
Fresnillo PLC (FRES.LN) gained 1.1%. Glencore PLC (GLEN.LN) claimed
a 2.9% rise.
Meanwhile, Anglo American PLC shares (AAL.LN) leapt 5.8% after
its Kumba Iron Ore unit said it will restart dividend payments
(http://www.angloamericankumba.com//media/Files/A/Anglo-American-Kumba/investor-presentation/interim-results-2017-booklet.pdf).
Oil producers BP PLC (BP.LN) and Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSB.LN)
each bulked up by 1.1% as oil prices pushed higher. Oil futures
were up
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-continues-to-gain-as-opec-raises-hopes-of-market-rebalancing-2017-07-25)
after Saudi Arabia and Nigeria made fresh pledges to pull back on
exports and output, raised expectations for greater market
rebalancing.
The pound bought $1.3022 compared with $1.3029 late Monday in
New York.
Stock movers: Shares of Wm. Morrison Supermarkets PLC (MRW.LN)
fell 1.6% after the company's market share fell
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/lidl-aldi-lead-in-uk-market-share-gains-2017-07-25)
to 10.5% in the 12 weeks to July 16, according to Kantar.
Segro PLC (SGRO.LN) climbed 4.6% after the property investment
and development company posted a rise in first-half pretax profit
to 91.2 million pounds ($118.5 million).
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/segro-profit-rises-on-gain-in-portfolio-value-2017-07-25)
Mediclinic International PLC shares (MDC.LN) picked up 2.4%
after the healthcare group said Danie Meintjes plans to retire
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/mediclinic-ceo-danie-meintjes-to-retire-next-july-2017-07-25)
from his position as chief executive and company director by July
2018.
But at the bottom of the FTSE 100 was Provident Financial PLC
(PFG.LN) , down 3.3% after the credit provider reported a 46% drop
in first-half pretax profit
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/provident-financial-profit-drops-46-2017-07-25).
The FTSE 100 on Monday dropped 1%
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/airlines-oil-stocks-put-ftse-100-under-pressure-2017-07-24),
hurt in part by declines for airlines.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 25, 2017 06:37 ET (10:37 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
FTSE 100
Index Chart
From Aug 2024 to Sep 2024
FTSE 100
Index Chart
From Sep 2023 to Sep 2024