LONDON MARKETS: Miners Lead Gains On FTSE 100 As China Moves To Stimulate Growth

By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch

U.K. stocks bounced higher Monday, with the mining sector the best performing after China enacted a new measure aimed at a stimulating growth in the world's second-largest economy.

The FTSE 100 rose 0.8% to 7,052.32, with only a handful of shares moving lower, led by a 0.6% decline in shares of bottler Coca-Cola HBC AG .

The mining group gained 1.6%, after China's central bank over the weekend cut the amount of reserves commercial banks are required to hold. The move frees up about $200 billion for lending (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/china-cuts-banks-reserve-ratio-2015-04-19-94854558). China has been struggling with slowing growth, including in its key property market.

Miners can be particularly sensitive to developments from China, a key buyer of metals and other commodities. Shares of iron-ore producer Anglo American popped up 2.4%. BHP Billiton PLC (BHP) gained 1.6%, as did shares of Rio Tinto PLC (RIO) . Glencore PLC picked up 1.5%. But precious metals miner Fresnillo PLC slipped 0.1%.

On Friday, the FTSE 100 fell 0.9% (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ftse-100-moves-higher-but-weekly-loss-in-sight-2015-04-17), part of a global stock selloff triggered after Chinese regulators made changes in trading rules for local markets.

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