London midday: Stocks stay up as miners rally on China stimulus

(Sharecast News) - London stocks were still in the black by midday on Tuesday, with miners pacing the gains after China unveiled new stimulus measures. The FTSE 100 was up 0.4% at 8,289.40.

Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said easing monetary policy continues to dominate the global narrative.

"Asian markets ripped as China announced a series of easing measures designed to stimulate the world's second-largest economy," he said. "The People's Bank of China has delved into its bag of tricks to try to get growth back to the 5% target, including cuts to interest rates, mortgage rates, and downpayments for house buyers. This isn't the central bank going all-in on stimulus, there's plenty more left in the tank, but It's a clear sign that it's not going to sit back and watch growth disappoint.

"Brent oil futures are trading around $74.6 per barrel this morning, recouping losses from previous sessions as traders give supply concerns a slight edge over demand weakness. On the demand side, stimulus from China's central bank should also act as a small tailwind given the region's status as the world's top oil consumer."

In equity markets, heavily-weighted miners were the top performers on the FTSE 100 as copper and iron ore prices rallied on the China stimulus news, with Anglo American, Antofagasta, Glencore and Rio Tinto all sharply higher.

Prudential, Standard Chartered and Burberry - all of which are exposed to China - rallied.

Low-cost micro computer maker Raspberry Pi surged to the top of the FTSE 250 as it posted better than-expected interim profit in its maiden results as a listed company. Adjusted core earnings rose 55% to $21m, beating internal expectations, while on a pre-tax basis, profits were flat at $10.8m. Revenues surged 61% to $144m.

Raspberry Pi held full-year guidance, adding that volumes should normalise towards the end of the 12-month period.

On the downside, engineering solutions business Smiths Group slumped as its full-year adjusted pre-tax profit missed estimates. The company also announced the acquisitions of two North American companies to bolt on to its HVAC and Flex-Tek businesses for a combined £110m.

Dunelm fell sharply after its biggest shareholder, Will Adderley, and his private investment firm WA Capital, sold a 4.9% stake in the homeware retailer in a placing to institutional investors. Barclays, which acted as sole global co-ordinator, said that WA Capital - which is controlled by Adderley and his wife - sold 10m shares at 1,140p each.

Irn-Bru maker AG Barr fizzed lower even as it backed its full-year expectations, posted a rise in interim profit and revenue and lifted its dividend.

Recruiter SThree also fell as it reported an 8% drop in third-quarter net fees amid continued challenging market conditions.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 8,289.40 0.36% FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,860.70 0.07% techMARK (TASX) 4,789.66 -0.15%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Anglo American (AAL) 2,274.00p 7.14% Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,932.50p 5.89% Glencore (GLEN) 403.40p 4.82% Rio Tinto (RIO) 5,058.00p 4.73% Prudential (PRU) 666.00p 4.29% Standard Chartered (STAN) 788.20p 4.07% Barclays (BARC) 228.55p 2.40% Weir Group (WEIR) 2,158.00p 2.18% Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 59.18p 1.86% NATWEST GROUP (NWG) 341.70p 1.67%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,698.00p -6.70% London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) 10,200.00p -1.50% Land Securities Group (LAND) 652.50p -1.29% Unite Group (UTG) 945.00p -1.20% United Utilities Group (UU.) 1,042.00p -1.19% SEGRO (SGRO) 872.20p -1.18% Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,138.50p -1.13% LondonMetric Property (LMP) 204.60p -1.06% Experian (EXPN) 3,834.00p -1.03% Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 291.60p -1.02%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Raspberry PI Holdings (RPI) 374.20p 7.47% Dr. Martens (DOCS) 53.65p 6.13% Fidelity China Special Situations (FCSS) 187.60p 4.22% Burberry Group (BRBY) 620.40p 3.57% Ocado Group (OCDO) 357.50p 3.23% Close Brothers Group (CBG) 417.20p 3.22% Man Group (EMG) 215.40p 3.16% RS Group (RS1) 811.00p 3.05% BlackRock World Mining Trust (BRWM) 525.00p 2.94% Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 1,338.00p 2.69%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Dunelm Group (DNLM) 1,167.00p -5.51% W.A.G Payment Solutions (WPS) 79.00p -3.42% Barr (A.G.) (BAG) 641.00p -3.17% SThree (STEM) 385.00p -2.65% Big Yellow Group (BYG) 1,260.00p -2.48% IntegraFin Holding (IHP) 364.50p -2.15% Safestore Holdings (SAFE) 889.50p -2.15% Hilton Food Group (HFG) 871.00p -2.02% Chemring Group (CHG) 365.50p -1.62% Hammerson (HMSO) 30.74p -1.54%