London close: Markets extend winning streak despite Fed concerns

13th May 2013 17:04

The FTSE 100 finished with slight gains on Monday, extending the recent winning streak into its eighth day, as markets shrugged off concerns over stimulus measures in the US and disappointing economic data in China.Following a strong rise last week, London's benchmark index reached a closing price of 6,632 this afternoon, a level not seen since late 2007, meaning that it has gained a total of 12% in 2013 so far. After starting with mild losses, the FTSE 100 rallied in afternoon trade as a decent debt auction in Italy saw three-year bond yields fall to their lowest since January. Meanwhile, US retail sales unexpectedly rose by 0.1% in April, following a 0.5% decline in March, ahead the 0.3% fall forecast.Benchmarks in the States however began today's session tentatively as analysts mulled over a potential "exit strategy" of the Federal Reserve's $85bn-a-month asset purchase programme.Market Strategist Ishaq Siddiqi from ETX Capital said: "The Fed along with the European Central Bank and Bank of Japan have been easing over the past six months, driving risk assets higher which has left global indices at multi-year highs and peripheral bonds at 30-month lows. Traders are now assessing the Fed's plan, though not much is known about this exit strategy in terms of the amount the Fed will reduce and the when the tapering actually kicks in."Also playing on investors' minds today was industrial output data from China clocked in below expectations for April, rising at an annual rate of 9.3%, accelerating from the 8.9% growth in March but under the 9.4% consensus estimate. Chinese retail sales growth, however, matched predictions at 12.8% year-on-year in April.FTSE 100: G4S in top spot after G8 contract win G4S leapt into the top spot after winning a deal to provide security at the two day Northern Ireland G8 Summit in June. It will provide 450 staff members to give support to the police.Antofagasta was another strong riser, erasing some of last week's losses after Nomura said it was one of several miners to have "significant balance sheet headroom". Capita Group climbed after Espirito Santo increased its target price from 700p to 900p and upgraded the stock to 'neutral'. Meanwhile, Standard Chartered fell into the red following reports that short seller Carson Block is betting against the company's debt, saying its loan quality is "deteriorating", and that the market "misunderstands the amount of risk that's presently in the book".Part-nationalised lender Lloyds was also in decline after it revealed that Chairman Sir Winfried Bischoff will retire within a year's time, a move thought to be in anticipation of the bank's potential privatisation. Airline group IAG was extending losses after its first-quarter results on Friday in which it reported an operating loss of €278m, slightly worse than the year before. The stock was being dampened today by concerns over travel demand related to the spread of a SARS-like virus.Glencore Xstrata, the newly merged commodities trader and mining giant, edged higher after recording production growth across most of its asset classes in the first quarter. An analyst at Tradenext labelled the stock as a "core holding for anyone with an interest in the mining sector due to its size".FTSE 250: Ocado and Rank provide a dragOnline grocery firm Ocado was sharply lower on reports that Waitrose could launch legal action if it breaches its contract to help rival supermarket Morrison develop an internet shopping site.Meanwhile, Mecca bingo owner Rank Group declined after saying that full-year figures are likely to come in "marginally below" last year, owing to the cold weather in the third quarter which dented the top line.FTSE 100 - RisersG4S (GFS) 256.10p +3.39%Antofagasta (ANTO) 940.50p +3.01%BAE Systems (BA.) 389.50p +2.58%Weir Group (WEIR) 2,402.00p +2.30%Capita (CPI) 942.50p +2.28%Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 389.80p +1.99%Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 2,620.00p +1.91%Serco Group (SRP) 634.00p +1.52%Babcock International Group (BAB) 1,089.00p +1.40%National Grid (NG.) 834.50p +1.40%FTSE 100 - FallersStandard Chartered (STAN) 1,552.50p -1.93%International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 270.70p -1.88%Vedanta Resources (VED) 1,280.00p -1.46%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 58.09p -1.44%Carnival (CCL) 2,364.00p -1.38%BT Group (BT.A) 305.80p -1.20%Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,001.00p -1.19%Evraz (EVR) 169.40p -1.17%Aviva (AV.) 319.90p -1.08%GKN (GKN) 287.80p -1.03%FTSE 250 - RisersRegus (RGU) 177.50p +4.41%Renishaw (RSW) 1,785.00p +3.78%St. Modwen Properties (SMP) 307.90p +3.71%Ophir Energy (OPHR) 401.40p +3.13%Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 366.10p +2.95%QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 194.30p +2.86%Lonmin (LMI) 286.00p +2.58%Brewin Dolphin Holdings (BRW) 209.00p +2.45%Hunting (HTG) 851.00p +2.41%Heritage Oil (HOIL) 128.00p +2.40%FTSE 250 - FallersNew World Resources A Shares (NWR) 142.30p -6.99%Ocado Group (OCDO) 210.00p -6.50%Carpetright (CPR) 631.50p -5.04%IP Group (IPO) 147.10p -3.22%Rank Group (RNK) 161.00p -3.01%Keller Group (KLR) 860.50p -2.93%Diploma (DPLM) 582.00p -2.92%Elementis (ELM) 246.90p -2.91%Barratt Developments (BDEV) 314.10p -2.85%F&C Asset Management (FCAM) 94.95p -2.57%BC