LONDON MARKETS: FTSE 100 Gains As Miners, Oil Majors Brighten

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)

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