LONDON MARKETS: FTSE 100 Notches A Gain After BP, StanChart Earnings

By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch

Miners fall as China clamps down on commodity speculation

U.K. stocks finished higher Tuesday, getting a lift from well-received earnings reports from oil heavyweight BP PLC and banking firm Standard Chartered PLC.

The FTSE 100 index rose 0.4% to 6,284.52, 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 9.8% 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 2.1% 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 2.6% 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 4.3% 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.

BP's peer Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSB.LN) (RDSB.LN) turned higher, ending up 0.3%. Its earnings report is 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 1.9%, Anglo American PLC (AAL.LN) dropped 1.8% and Rio Tinto PLC (RIO) (RIO) (RIO) fell 0.8%.

The pound continued its march higher, soaring to a 11-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 $1.4640, according to FactSet, 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 12:31 ET (16:31 GMT)

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