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LONDON (Alliance News) - Stocks in London were higher soon after the open Monday, with low-cost airline easyJet and medical devices maker Smith & Nephew benefiting from broker upgrades, while mining stocks were firmly in the red following disappointing trade data from China.
The FTSE 100 was up 0.2%, or 12.85 points, at 6,138.55, The FTSE 250 was up 0.3% at 16,705.34 and the AIM All-Share was up 0.2% at 724.42.
Shares in easyJet were up 2.8%, following a double upgrade by RBC Capital to Outperform from Underperform. The budget airline was taking back some of the losses from Friday, when it fell 1.7% after reporting growth in passenger numbers in April year-on-year, but a decline in load factor.
Smith & Nephew was also trading higher on a broker rating upgrade, up 1.9%. Jefferies lifted its recommendation on the medical devices maker to Buy from Hold.
FTSE 100-listed mining stocks were heavily down, following weak trade data from China. The Asian giant's exports decreased unexpectedly in April after rising sharply in the previous month, and imports fell at a faster-than-expected pace. Exports dropped 1.8% year-over-year in April, while they was expected to remain flat. Imports plunged 10.9% in April from a year ago, much faster than the 4.0% fall expected by economists.
The visible trade surplus of the country came in at USD45.56 billion in April, which was above the expected surplus of USD40.00 billion.
Blue-chips Anglo American, down 5.4%, Antofagasta, down 4.9% and Rio Tinto, down 4.6%, were among the biggest fallers in the FTSE 100.
In the FTSE 250, G4S was up 4.9%, the best mid-cap performer. The security services and outsourcing company said it had a positive start to 2016, with revenue growing and no new provisions booked on onerous contracts. Ashley Almanza, the chief executive of G4S, said the group performed well in the first quarter against a backdrop of macroeconomic uncertainty.
This, Almanza said, was reflected by revenue in the first quarter to the end of March growing to GBP1.51 billion from GBP1.44 billion in continuing businesses.
Revenue from G4S's Onerous Contracts, which it continues to manage through to conclusion, was GBP55.0 million, up from GBP46.0 million a year earlier, while revenue from its Portfolio Businesses, which it is seeking to sell, was GBP186.0 million, down from GBP218.0 million.
Greggs was another gainer, up 2.3%. The bakery and food-to-go retailer said it increased sales in the first 18 weeks of 2016 as its breakfast and healthier Balanced Choice ranges continued to prove popular and as it carried on refitting and investing in its store estate.
Greggs said total sales in the 18 weeks grew by 5.7% year-on-year, while company-managed shop like-for-like sales were up by 3.7%, which it said was driven by its breakfast range, hot sandwiches and Balanced Choice items. Greggs noted that conditions on the high street were softer in March but recovered in recent weeks.
Beazley was up 2.3% after Berstein upgraded the insurer to Outperform from Market Perform.
AIM-listed Bushveld Minerals has signed a deal with FTSE 250 company steel-maker Evraz to purchase a significant stake in the the Vametco vanadium mine and plant in South Africa.
The confirmation that the pair have signed a share purchase agreement follows on from Bushveld signing an exclusivity deal to analyse the Evraz-owned project last month. Bushveld said the Vametco project has some of the highest grades and lowest costs in the world, but the project only managed to squeeze out a tiny profit last year.
The agreement, which has been signed with Evraz Group SA, will lead to Bushveld acquiring Evraz's 78.8% economic interest in Strategic Minerals Corp, the owner of the Vametco vanadium mine and plant in South Africa.
Shares in Evraz were down 2.4%, while Bushveld shars were suspended, with its last price at 2.45p.
Brent oil was at USD45.87 a barrel soon after the open Monday, compared to USD45.77 a barrel at the London equities close on Friday. The North Sea benchmark has remained above the USD45 line, as wildfire continued to disrupt supplies from Canada's oil sands.
"It is thought that production in the region has now fallen by more than a million barrels per day which could easily support further increases in prices in the coming weeks, especially coming alongside the continued cuts in the US where output has now fallen by almost 800,000 barrels per day from its peak last year," said Oanda senior market analyst Craig Erlam.
The CAC 40 in Paris and the DAX 30 in Frankfurt were up 0.3% and 0.4%, respectively, ahead of the eurogroup meeting of finance ministers from eurozone countries starting at 1400 BST in Brussels.
The eurogroup will discuss the state of play of the first review of the macroeconomic adjustment programme to Greece. It also will discuss "possible debt relief measures aiming at ensuring that Greece's gross financing needs remain at a sustainable level", with a view to reach a political agreement.
The Greek Parliament passed through the ruling coalition's latest reform package including pension cuts and income tax hikes, amid clashes late Sunday on nearby Athens streets between police and rioters opposed to the austerity measures. Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras argued that the pension system "can not survive without far-reaching reform".
The legislation is meant to net EUR3.6 billion toward debt reduction, a condition demanded by international creditors for the country to receive its next aid tranche, with another EUR1.8 billion of indirect tax hikes to be voted on in the coming weeks.
In the economic calendar Monday, the eurozone sentix investor confidence index is due at 0930 BST, while the US the labor market conditions index is due at 1500 BST.
By Daniel Ruiz; danielruiz@alliancenews.com
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