London open: Upbeat China data gives markets a boost

1st Jul 2014 08:18

- Chinese manufacturing at six-month high- Global manufacturing PMIs in focus- Ukraine ends ceasefire with rebelstechMARK 2,821.23 +0.13%FTSE 100 6,773.37 +0.44%FTSE 250 15,734.94 +0.07%UK equity markets rose strongly on Tuesday morning as upbeat manufacturing data from China gave the heavyweight mining sector a boost.Ahead of a wave of economic indicators from across the globe today, investors took a bullish approach early on after figures showed that manufacturing activity in China reached a six-month high.The FTSE 100 was trading 0.4% higher at 6,773 in early trading.The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said that the official Chinese manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) edged higher from 50.8 in May to 51.0 last month. This was its fourth straight monthly improvement and the highest since December 2013.Manufacturing PMIs are also due out in the UK, Eurozone and US later on, all of which are forecast to show that activity continued to grow in each region in June, albeit at varying rates.In the UK, today will see the release of the records of the Financial Policy Committee's June 17th meeting, at which policymakers proposed to cap riskier mortgage lending in a bid to cool the UK housing market.Traders are also likely to keep a close eye on developments in Ukraine where President Petro Poroshenko called an end to a ceasefire with pro-Russian millitants in the east.He said: "We will attack, we will free our land [...] The decision not to continue the ceasefire is our answer to terrorists, militants and marauders."Miners jump on China dataMining stocks were the best performers this morning in reaction to the decent economic data from top metals user China. Rio Tinto, Randgold, Fresnillo, BHP Billiton, Anglo American and Glencore were all putting in steady gains this morning.Drinks group Diageo was continuing to rise on speculation over a potential merger with brewer SABMiller, which could create a beverages giant worth over £100bn.UK regeneration specialist St. Modwen Properties jumped as it posted a 32% increase in half-year pre-tax profit, increased its dividend and said improving valuations, particularly in the residential sector, underpin its confidence for the full-year. Online grocer Ocado slumped despite moving into the black with a pre-tax profit of £7.5m compared with a £3.8m loss the year before. However, the company did note a slowdown in sales and said that growth was limited by "subdued and cautious consumer spending".Chip groups ARM Holdings and Imagination Technologies were both under the weather this morning.FTSE 100 - RisersRio Tinto (RIO) 3,191.00p +2.65%Diageo (DGE) 1,908.50p +2.28%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 4,976.00p +2.11%Fresnillo (FRES) 888.50p +1.89%BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,920.00p +1.61%G4S (GFS) 258.90p +1.45%Anglo American (AAL) 1,449.00p +1.33%National Grid (NG.) 849.00p +1.07%Glencore (GLEN) 329.00p +1.06%International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 373.80p +0.89%FTSE 100 - FallersBurberry Group (BRBY) 1,466.00p -1.15%TUI Travel (TT.) 394.50p -0.88%Royal Mail (RMG) 494.70p -0.86%Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 312.80p -0.86%ARM Holdings (ARM) 873.50p -0.85%Tesco (TSCO) 281.90p -0.81%Pearson (PSON) 1,145.00p -0.78%Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,185.50p -0.71%Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 182.20p -0.65%Whitbread (WTB) 4,383.00p -0.59%FTSE 250 - RisersSt. Modwen Properties (SMP) 374.10p +4.32%Drax Group (DRX) 657.50p +2.65%African Barrick Gold (ABG) 211.10p +2.63%Evraz (EVR) 90.60p +2.37%Henderson Group (HGG) 245.90p +2.03%Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC) 50.05p +1.62%Alent (ALNT) 372.10p +1.61%Vedanta Resources (VED) 1,125.00p +1.44%Just Retirement Group (JRG) 148.50p +1.43%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 308.40p +1.41%FTSE 250 - FallersOcado Group (OCDO) 353.60p -4.77%Exova Group (EXO) 237.10p -3.62%Riverstone Energy Limited (RSE) 901.50p -2.54%Betfair Group (BET) 1,003.00p -2.05%CSR (CSR) 581.00p -1.86%Fisher (James) & Sons (FSJ) 1,391.00p -1.70%NMC Health (NMC) 492.80p -1.44%Imagination Technologies Group (IMG) 208.20p -1.37%Kier Group (KIE) 1,752.00p -1.30%Halma (HLMA) 582.00p -1.27%BC