LONDON MARKETS: FTSE 100 Marches Higher After BP, StanChart Earnings

By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch

Mining shares fall after China clamps down on commodity speculation

U.K. stocks tried to shake off recent losses on Tuesday, moving cautiously higher after well-received earnings reports from BP PLC and Standard Chartered PLC.

The FTSE 100 index rose 0.3% to 6,277.79, after slumping 0.8% on Monday (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ftse-100-in-the-red-as-mining-shares-slump-2016-04-25) and ending at the lowest close since April 12.

Shares of Standard Chartered PLC (STAN.LN) led gainers on Tuesday, surging 11% after the bank said last year's spike in bad loans eased in the first quarter (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/standard-chartered-shares-rise-as-bad-loans-ease-2016-04-26).

Barclays PLC (BCS) (BCS) gained 0.7% after news Bob Diamond's Atlas Mara Ltd. is considering a bid for the bank's Africa business (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/atlas-mara-considering-bid-for-barclays-africa-2016-04-26). Diamond was chief executive at Barclays until 2012 when he resigned amid an interest-rate rigging scandal.

Whitbread (WTB.LN) rose 3.2% after the owner of Costa Coffee and Premier Inn raised its dividend by 10% (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/whitbread-profit-up-5-raises-dividend-by-10-2016-04-26) and reported a 5% rise in pretax profit for the year.

BP (BP.LN) (BP.LN) climbed 4.4% after the oil giant reported underlying earnings ahead of forecasts (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/bp-posts-loss-but-underlying-earnings-beat-views-2016-04-26). Chief Executive Bob Dudley said BP is "driving toward our near-term goal of rebalancing" cash flows.

Peer oil group Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSB.LN) (RDSB.LN) slipped 0.2% ahead of its earnings report due Wednesday next week.

Miners, however, weighed on the London benchmark in Tuesday's trade as Chinese efforts to calm a recent rally in commodity prices were seen as taking a toll on sentiment. The Financial Times reported that Chinese authorities are clamping down on speculative trade (http://www.cnbc.com/2016/04/25/china-clamps-down-on-commodities-frenzy.html) in the commodity markets after activity surged in recent days.

Shares of Glencore PLC (GLEN.LN) (GLEN.LN) lost 1.6%, Rio Tinto PLC (RIO) (RIO) (RIO) fell 0.8%, and Fresnillo PLC (FRES.LN) dropped 0.8%.

The pound continued its march higher, soaring to a 10-week high against the dollar (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/pound-jumps-to-10-week-high-as-brexit-fears-ease-2016-04-26-6103015). Sterling traded as high as $1.4579 compared with $1.4483 late Monday in New York.

"Between [U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer] George Osborne's 200-page dossier on the risks of leaving the EU, Barack Obama's warning that a trade deal wouldn't come easy or fast, and the sheer lack of anything from the 'leave' campaign, the odds of a Brexit have fallen considerably, which the pound is benefiting greatly from," said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda, in a note.

Read:Brexit looks less likely after Obama's pro-EU comments (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/obamas-brexit-comments-spark-sharp-rise-in-pro-eu-betting-2016-04-25)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 26, 2016 07:38 ET (11:38 GMT)

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