London open: Miners lift markets as concerns over China ease

9th Aug 2013 08:45

Worries over a slowdown in China eased temporarily on Friday morning after a barrage of strong economic figures from the world's second-largest economy sparked decent gains in the mining sector in London. Chinese industrial production increased at an annual rate of 9.7% in July, an acceleration from the 8.9% rise in June and ahead of expectations (consensus forecast: +8.9%). This was the biggest jump since February "in a sign that the targeted investment by the government, in response to the slowing growth this year, is already having a positive impact," according to Market Analyst Craig Erlam from Alpari.Consumer-price inflation remained steady at 2.7% in July, in line with the increase in June and under the expected increase to 2.8%. With inflation still well below the 3.5% government target, analysts believe it leaves Beijing with room to implement more stimulus to boost growth.Not all data beat forecasts though this morning, with Chinese retail sales growth falling slightly from 13.3% to 13.2% last month (consensus forecast: +13.5%). However, Erlam said that the retail figures should still be viewed as another positive point: "The fact that we're seeing growth of 13.2% on the retail side is what is needed in order to pick up some of the slack from the lower demand for Chinese exports, due to the recession in the Eurozone and slowing growth in other countries."Yesterday, Chinese trade figures were well received by the market with both imports and exports smashing forecasts in July.Miners gain after China data Resource stocks were providing a lift on the FTSE 100 on Friday morning as the demand outlook improved on the back of the data from China. Randgold and Fresnillo, two stocks hit hard earlier in the week after disappointing with second-quarter results, were among the high risers early on. Rio Tinto, Vedanta, Glencore Xstrata, Antofagasta, BHP Billiton and Anglo American followed suit.Insurance firm Aviva was extending gains made yesterday after impressing the market with its half-yearly report. Bank of America Merrill Lynch was providing a lift this morning after upgrading the stock to 'buy'.Tesco rose after revealing it is in exclusive talks to combine its operations in China with local chain Vanguard to create a business with sales of some £10bn.Gaming company William Hill was subdued after saying it has agreed to acquire Tom Waterhouse, an Australian online betting business, for A$34m.Interim profits sank at property and casualty insurer Catlin, causing the stock to fall early on. The company said that the fall in the bottom line was due to rising interest rates in the US, even though it produced a strong underwriting performance. FTSE 100 - RisersRandgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 4,559.00p +3.14%Anglo American (AAL) 1,489.00p +2.37%Fresnillo (FRES) 979.00p +2.30%Vedanta Resources (VED) 1,203.00p +2.12%BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,934.50p +1.87%Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,072.00p +1.84%International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 327.90p +1.39%Antofagasta (ANTO) 888.00p +1.31%Glencore Xstrata (GLEN) 284.05p +1.30%Tesco (TSCO) 372.70p +0.98%FTSE 100 - FallersStandard Life (SL.) 372.10p -1.43%Next (NXT) 4,953.00p -0.90%Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,550.00p -0.83%Persimmon (PSN) 1,237.00p -0.80%United Utilities Group (UU.) 712.50p -0.70%Associated British Foods (ABF) 1,923.00p -0.67%Resolution Ltd. (RSL) 324.10p -0.67%Barclays (BARC) 285.20p -0.61%ARM Holdings (ARM) 875.00p -0.57%Carnival (CCL) 2,478.00p -0.56%FTSE 250 - RisersHenderson Group (HGG) 175.50p +4.03%Lonmin (LMI) 336.80p +3.44%COLT Group SA (COLT) 105.40p +3.43%Dialight (DIA) 1,227.00p +3.28%Salamander Energy (SMDR) 122.40p +2.94%esure Group (ESUR) 255.00p +2.82%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 267.10p +2.30%Interserve (IRV) 531.00p +2.21%Xaar (XAR) 860.00p +2.08%Essar Energy (ESSR) 129.20p +2.05%FTSE 250 - FallersCatlin Group Ltd. (CGL) 481.00p -1.66%Spirent Communications (SPT) 142.80p -1.52%Fidessa Group (FDSA) 2,122.00p -1.39%Halfords Group (HFD) 367.40p -1.24%Rank Group (RNK) 158.80p -1.06%Dignity (DTY) 1,505.00p -1.05%ITE Group (ITE) 285.50p -0.94%Phoenix Group Holdings (DI) (PHNX) 760.50p -0.85%Barratt Developments (BDEV) 348.30p -0.77%BH Macro Ltd. GBP Shares (BHMG) 2,168.00p -0.73%BC