UKX FTSE 100 Index

By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch

Retail sales data are on deck at 9:30 a.m. London time

U.K. stocks inched higher for a third straight session on Thursday, boosted by a gain for Rentokil Initial after a well-received earnings report.

Shares of miners continued to rise on the back of a rally in nickel and aluminum prices.

Later in the morning attention turns to U.K. retail sales March, coming on the heels of disappointing wage and inflation data published earlier in the week.

What are markets doing?

The FTSE 100 index rose 0.2% to 7,333.35, building on a 1.3% rally from Wednesday. In that session, the London benchmark scored its best close since Feb. 5 (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/miners-lead-ftse-100-higher-after-rio-tinto-update-inflation-data-in-focus-2018-04-18) as the pound tumbled after data showed an unexpected drop in inflation.

On Thursday, the pound rebounded slightly, buying $1.4209 compared with $1.4205 late Wednesday in New York.

What is driving the markets?

A continued rally in oil and metals helped lift the FTSE 100, which is heavily skewed toward the commodity sector.

Nickel prices were trading at their highest since 2014, according to media reports. They were getting a lift from concerns that Russian nickel producer Norilsk Nickel (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/nickel-prices-rally-to-a-3-year-high-on-growing-concerns-over-us-sanctions-on-russia-2018-04-18) will be included in U.S. sanctions on Moscow.

Sanctions on major Russian aluminum producer United Co. Rusal (0486.HK) are seen as having helped lift aluminum prices to their highest level in more than six years. The metal was continuing its rally on Thursday.

Oil prices were also rising sharply. Futures added 0.8% and were trading at the highest level since 2014 (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-hovers-at-3-12-year-high-as-investors-look-ahead-to-opec-meeting-2018-04-19). Oil traders were looking ahead to the outcome of the joint Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and non-OPEC ministerial monitoring committee meeting, expected to be held on Friday

What are strategists saying?

"After a near-two-week pause following a rally from the March low, the FTSE 100 has finally broken out of a frustratingly tight 130-point range to hit a 10-week high. With renewed momentum, and right in the middle of historically the second-best month of the year for stock markets, 7,400 is a realistic possibility," said Lee Wild, head of equity strategy at Interactive Investor, in a note.

"A modest unravelling of sterling's latest advance against the dollar is a clear boon for U.K.-listed overseas earners, and a strong start to U.S. results season is steering focus back from politics to market fundamentals. That's positive for stocks while data points to rapid growth both in earnings and the global economy," he added.

Which data are on deck?

U.K. retail data for March are due at 9:30 a.m. London time or 4:30 a.m. Eastern Time. Sales are forecast to have climbed 2.3% year-on-year, but are seen falling 0.4% month-on-month. Analysts said the expected monthly drop likely is due to a cold weather spell across the country in March.

Which stocks are in focus?

Shares of Rentokil Initial PLC (RTO.LN) posted the biggest gain in the FTSE 100, up 2.7%. The advance came after the pest control company said ongoing revenue -- which excludes the effects of disposed or closed businesses -- rose 11% (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/rentokil-revenue-down-on-hurricane-cold-weather-2018-04-19) in the first quarter.

In the mining space, shares of Russia-focused Evraz PLC (EVR.LN) gained 2.6%, while Anglo American PLC (AAL.LN) climbed 1.5% and Glencore PLC (GLEN.LN) put on 0.7%.

Among oil giants, BP PLC (BP.LN) (BP.LN) added 0.5%, and Royal Dutch Shell (RDSA.LN) (RDSA.LN) tacked on 0.8%.

Outside the FTSE 100 index, Debenhams PLC (DEB.LN) tanked 10% after the department-store chain reported an 85% drop in first-half pretax profit (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/debenhams-pretax-profit-plunges-85-2018-04-19). The company said its Chief Financial Officer Matt Smith will leave the company to become finance director at Selfridges & Co.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 19, 2018 04:13 ET (08:13 GMT)

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