Market Report: Wall Street lifts FTSE 100 back above the 6,000 barrier
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Your support makes all the difference.Our American cousins were to thank for hoisting the FTSE 100 back above the 6,000 barrier, as a surge on Wall Street gave UK stocks a second wind. The blue-chip index rose steadily before a late push lifted it up 168.15 points to 6,030.32 – another impressive rise of 2.9 per cent.
For the first time in 2016, investors enjoyed four straight days in the green, with mining and oil stocks leading the charge.
Embattled miner Anglo American, whose value was destroyed last year by the collapse in metals prices, soared 70.1p to 468.05p, despite Fitch slashing its credit rating to junk status, following a similar move from ratings agency Moody’s.
Glencore leapt 17.05p to 120p, as banks lined up to take part in the commodities trader-cum-miner’s $7.7bn (£5.4bn) refinancing, proving that banks still have faith in the firm, whose high debt levels worried investors last year. The broker Investec said the news was encouraging, but “We would be surprised if the interest payments will be reduced as the commodity environment has worsened and the company’s credit rating is weaker than a year ago.”
Joining the mining rally were Chilean copper firm Antofagasta, up 37.8p at 478.4p, while aircraft engine maker Rolls-Royce, whose balance sheet has also concerned investors, flew 46.5p higher to 678p.
Sainsbury’s chief executive Mike Coupe might not have many supporters of his £1.3bn bid for Home Retail Group, but he found a friend in Exane BNP Paribas. The broker upgraded the supermarket group to outperform, and urged clients to stock up on the shares, which were 11.9p fresher at 261.5p, for their complementary property portfolios, which could help cut costs by as much as £200m, almost double what Mr Coupe claimed was possible.
Elsewhere, punters hitched a ride on Auto Trader, up 10.2p at 371.5p as it raised its full-year profit guidance to between £169m and £171m, while HSBC’s upgrade to buy sparked a rush for shares in FTSE 250 electronic parts distributor Electrocomponents, which was 17.5p brighter at 227p.
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