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FTSE 100 clears 5,400 as Frensillo, RBS, Tesco, Kingfisher and British Airways advance
Overview: the FTSE 100 gained 0.55% in the last day of trading before Christmas, eclipsing 5,400 to reach 15 month highs.
Silver miner Fresnillo (LSE: FRES) was the runaway leader among the blue chips, climbing 6%, while part-nationalised bank RBS (LSE: RBS) was a distant second with a 3% climb. Other notable risers included retailer Tesco (LSE: TSCO) and airline British Airways (LSE: BAY) with gains of about 2% and another retailer Kingfisher (LSE: LGF), which added 1.6%.
Just two FTSE 100 constituents lost more than 1% today. RSA Insurance Group (LSE: RSA) was at the bottom of the pile with a 1.5% slide, while medical devices manufacturer Smith & Nephew (LSE: SN) declined 1.3%.
The US stock market is poised for a higher open today after the Labor Department said that initial jobless claims declined by 28,000 last week to 452,000, which is the lowest level since September 2008. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the broader S&P 500 index and the technology heavy NASDAQ composite inched higher this morning.
Commodities
Oil prices slightly declined after rising overnight. February Brent Crude slid to US$74.89/barrel, while US light, sweet crude moved down to US$76.32/barrel.
Oil and gas stocks mostly rose today. Tullow Oil (LSE: TLW) was in the lead with a 2.3% climb, while BG Group (LSE: BG) and Cairn Energy (LSE: CNE) followed with gains of 1.5% and 1% respectively. BP (LSE: BP) added less than 1%, while fellow supermajor Shell (SLE: RDSB) was flat. Petrofac (LSE: PFC) also rose marginally.
Dragon Oil (SLE: DGO) tacked on 1.2% to lead the midcaps. Dana Petroleum (LSE: DNX) posted an insignificant gain, while Heritage Oil (LSE: HOIL) was flat. Melrose Resources (LSE: MRS) was at the bottom of the pile with a loss of 1.4%.
Mongolia-focused Petro Matad Ltd (AIM: MATD) led the small caps with a 15% rally. Peru, Colombia and Cuba operating oil and gas explorer and producer Gold Oil (LSE: GOO) and Atlantic Canada operating oil and gas group Enegi Oil (AIM: ENEG) also did well, tacking on 7% and 6.5% respectively. North America focused oil & gas junior Pantheon Resources (AIM: PANR) followed with a 4.5% advance.
Gold, silver and plaitnum rise
Precious metals advanced to recoup some of their recent losses. Gold improved to US$1,097/oz, while silver and platinum reached US$17.21/oz and US$1,455/oz respectively.
Silver miner Fresnillo (LSE: FRES) was the top performer in the mining sector today with a 6% climb. Fellow FTSE 100 constituent Randgold Resources (LSE: RRS) added 1%, while platinum miner Lonmin (LSE: LMI) posted a small loss.
Specialty chemicals firm Johnson Matthey (LSE: JMAT) was flat.
In the FTSE 250, Aquarius Platinum (LSE: AQP) rose 4.4%, whle silver producer Hochschild Mining (LSE: HOC) and gold miner Petropavlovsk (LSE: POG) added 2.6% and 2.2% respectively.
UK-registered China operating copper and gold miner Central China Goldfields (AIM: GGG) emerged as the top performers among the juniors, climbing 7.2%. Turkey and Saudi Arabia operating gold explorer KEFI Minerals (AIM: KEF) and Western Australia operating Norseman Gold (AIM: NGL) added more than 6%. Australian gold and copper prospector Solomon Gold (AIM: SOLG) and Iran focused gold explorer Persian Gold (AIM: PNG) rose 4.5% and 4%.
Miners gain as copper and nickel advance
Base metals also rose. Copper and nickel climbed to US$3.18/lb and US$8.43/lb, while zinc improved to US$1.12/lb.
All major base metal focused stocks rose today. Rio Tinto (LSE: RIO) led the way with a 2.2% gain. Xstrata (LSE: XTA) added 1.5%, while BHP Billiton (LSE: BLT) and Kazakhmys (LSE: KAZ) climbed 1.3%. Anglo American (LSE: AAL), Antofagasta (LSE: ANTO) and Vedanta Resources (LSE: VED) were up 1%. Eurasian Natural Resources (LSE: ENRC) rose marginally.
London's only listed pure iron ore producer and FTSE 250 constituent, Ferrexpo (LSE: FXPO) did well, tacking on almost 2%.
Copper and nickel explorer Regency Mines (AIM: RGM) outperformed the sector with a 17% surge. Iron ore focused investor Red Rock Resources (AIM: RRR) followed with a 5% advance.
Banks, insurance, private equity
Royal Bank of Scotland (LSE: RBS) led the banking sector with a 3% gain, while fellow part-nationalised bank Lloyds (LSE: LLOY) rose marginally, as did HSBC (LSE: HSBA). Barclays (LSE: BARC) was flat and Standard Chartered (LSE: STAN) declined marginally.
Old Mutual (LSE: OML) led the insurers with a 1.6% advance. Aviva (SLE: AV) and Standard Life (LSE: SL) tacked on nearly 1%. Admiral Group (LSE: ADM) and Legal & General (LSE: LGEN) were flat, while Prudential (LSE: PRU) declined marginally and RSA Insurance Group (LSE: RSA) lost 1.5%.
Private equity group 3i (LSE: III) posted an insignificant gain.
Large and Mid Cap News
Hotel and restaurant group and FTSE 100 constituent Whitbread (LSE: WTB) has sold five properties operating as Premier Inn to M&G Investments (LSE: MEQI), also entering a leaseback agreement to operate them for 25 years for a total consideration of £36.65 million in cash, which will represent an initial yield of 5.5%.
Infrastructure group Balfour Beatty (AIM: BBY) has acquired Doncaster-based Strata Construction, which specialised in the construction of affordable housing for £10.3 million in cash.
Small Cap News
Selwyn Resources Ltd. (TSX-V: SWN) has announced a non-brokered offering of C$1 million in flow-through common shares with one place at a price of C$0.275 per share for qualifying Canadian exploration expense (CEE) on the Selwyn lead-zinc project.
KEFI Minerals (AIM: KEFI) has finalized a joint venture (JV) agreement with Centerra Gold (TSX: CG) over its wholly owned Bakir Tepe project in southwestern Turkey, giving Centerra the right to earn a 51% interest.
