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London open: Stocks gain amid renewed trade hopes
London stocks rose in early trade on Monday, with miners pacing the advance amid growing optimism over a Sino-US trade deal.
At 0845 GMT, the FTSE 100 was up 0.4% at 7,329.46, while the pound was down 0.1% against the dollar at 1.2933 and flat versus the euro at 1.1591.
Sentiment was underpinned by renewed hopes over a trade between the US and China after US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said on Sunday that licenses for US companies to do business with Huawei Technologies will be coming “very shortly”.
In an interview with Bloomberg TV in Bangkok, Ross made some positive noises about the possibility of a deal being struck this month.
“We’re in good shape, we’re making good progress, and there’s no natural reason why it couldn’t be,” he said. “But whether it will slip a little bit, who knows. It’s always possible.”
Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell said: “So nothing particularly tangible just yet. However, these promises for the near future were enough to paint Europe green on Monday.”
In equity markets, miners were the standout gainers, with Glencore, BHP, Antofagasta, Anglo American and Rio Tinto all higher amid rising copper prices.
International Consolidated Airlines flew higher after the British Airways and Iberia parent said it had agreed to buy Spanish airline Air Europa for €1bn.
4imprint rallied after the promotional products direct marketer said demand activity remained “robust” in the second half and that it expects revenue growth of 16% for the full year.
Premier Inn owner Whitbread was in the green after an initiation at ‘buy’ by Peel Hunt, while Pets at Home was boosted by an upgrade to ‘buy’ at Liberum.
Marston’s nudged up after announcing that it was selling 137 pubs to Admiral Taverns for £44.9m as part of its plan to cut debt through the disposal of non-core assets.
On the downside, Hiscox was the worst performer on the top-flight index after it reported a rise in third-quarter premiums and said it had set aside $165m for claims related to hurricane Dorian and typhoons Hagibis and Faxai.
