Miners prosper as FTSE 100 makes steady progress

The FTSE 100 recouped some of Friday’s hefty losses, while gold soared once more, as President Donald Trump dialled down his rhetoric in the trade spat between the US and China.

The FTSE 100 index closed up 15.40 points, 0.2%, at 9,442.87. The FTSE 250 ended 262.48 points higher, 1.2%, at 22,064.32, and the AIM All-Share rose 6.14 points, 0.8%, to 792.47.

In European equities on Monday, the CAC 40 in Paris closed up 0.2%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt ended up 0.6%.

Stocks in New York were up at the time of the London close, regaining some of Friday’s falls.

Over the weekend, Mr Trump said the US wants to help China, not hurt it, striking a more conciliatory tone days after threatening “massive” additional tariffs on Friday.

“The USA. wants to help China, not hurt it!!!,” he said in Sunday’s post on Truth Social, adding that “respected President Xi [Jinping]…doesn’t want Depression for his country”.

Jim Reid, at Deutsche Bank, said Friday’s developments were a reminder that the underlying tension between the two countries still exists, and he thinks these tensions will probably be a recurring theme in the years ahead as both sides compete on the global stage for dominance.

“China currently holds considerable leverage in the rare earths market and seems keen to use it to secure a better deal – particularly in the chip sector, where the US has imposed export controls. So, this battle is shaping up as rare earths versus AI chips,” he suggested.

The US government shutdown is dragging on, meanwhile. It began at the start of the month.

Since then, a nonfarm payrolls report has gone unpublished.

On Friday, the Bureau of Labour Statistics (BLS) said US inflation data, due this Wednesday, has been pushed back to October 24.

“No other releases will be rescheduled or produced until the resumption of regular government services. This release allows the Social Security Administration to meet statutory deadlines necessary to ensure the accurate and timely payment of benefits,” the BLS said.

Barclays said that September’s data quality “should remain unaffected since collection finished before the shutdown, but prolonged closures may affect October data collection and quality”.

The pound was quoted lower at 1.3331 dollars at the time of the London equity market close on Monday, compared with 1.3338 dollars on Friday.

The euro stood at 1.1569 dollars, lower compared with 1.1616 dollars. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at 152.30 yen, higher compared with 151.87 yen.

The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.04%, narrowed from 4.07% on Friday. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury stood at 4.62%, trimmed from 4.66%.

On the FTSE 100, gold miners Fresnillo and Endeavour Mining leapt 9.1% and 11% respectively, as gold’s safe haven qualities saw the price of the yellow metal hit fresh highs.

Gold traded at 4,093.56 dollars an ounce on Monday, up from 4,014.76 dollars on Friday.

Copper miners were also in demand as the price of the metal jumped 6.5%. Glencore jumped 3.3% and Antofagasta 5%.

Elsewhere, M&G, up 3%, benefited from an upgrade from Berenberg to ‘buy’ from ‘neutral’.

The broker thinks the UK life insurance sector will see an acceleration in dividend per share growth in the coming years.

AstraZeneca gave back early gains, closing down 0.7%, despite confirming a “historic” drug pricing agreement with the US.

The agreement, which follows a similar accord announced last month with Pfizer, requires AstraZeneca to charge “Most Favoured Nation” pricing – matching the lowest price offered in other wealthy nations – to Medicaid, the US health insurance programme for low-income Americans.

The company added that specific terms of the agreement remain confidential.

In exchange, Trump administration officials agreed to a three-year delay on new tariffs on AstraZeneca, which had previously announced plans to invest 50 billion dollars in the US in response to looming tariff threats.

UBS analyst Matthew Weston said the deal removes uncertainty on Section 232 tariffs.

The agreement is the first with the White House for a non-US drugmaker, with more expected to follow for AstraZeneca’s peers.

On the FTSE 250, Big Yellow Group jumped 15% after Blackstone Europe confirmed it is a potential bidder for the company.

Surrey-based self-storage site operator Big Yellow said it has held meetings with “a small number of parties” that could lead to a takeover offer.

Blackstone Europe, part of New York-based private equity investment manager Blackstone, said any offer for Big Yellow would be via one or more investment funds that it advises.

Oxford Instruments said order intake suffered in the first half of its financial year amid tariff disruption, meaning that full-year revenue is likely to be little changed year-on-year.

Chief executive Richard Tyson said the start of the financial year coincided with the beginning of a “turbulent time in our markets”, and despite an “improving picture” in the second quarter, “we are now assuming that we will not recover the [first half] revenue shortfall”.

In response, shares in the provider of high technology products and services to industry and scientific research communities fell 7.6%.

Brent oil traded at 63.40 dollars a barrel on Monday, up from 63.19 dollars late Friday.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Endeavour Mining, up 348.00 pence at 3,436.00p, Fresnillo, up 216.00p at 2,592.00p, Antofagasta, up 134.00p at 2,827.00p, Anglo American, up 119.00p at 2,999.00p and Glencore, up 11.40p at 357.25p.

The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were BAE Systems, down 31.00p at 1,951.50p, Intertek, down 74.00p at 4,812.00p, British American Tobacco, down 57.00p at 3,788.00p, Babcock International, down 18.00p at 1,211.00p and Burberry, down 17.00p at 1,182.50p.

Tuesday’s global economic diary has UK unemployment and average earnings data.

Tuesday’s UK corporate calendar has full-year results from housebuilder Bellway and a trading statement from miner Rio Tinto.

Contributed by Alliance News