Last checked at 
LONDON (Alliance News) - UK shares closed a half-day Christmas Eve session higher, with resource stocks still benefiting from a modest firming up in the prices of oil and other commodities.
The FTSE 100 closed up 0.2% Thursday at 6,254.64 points. The index had put on 2.6% Wednesday, its best one-day percentage gain since October, lifted by miners and oil stocks. Those shares were again in favour on Thursday, with BP and Anglo American both closing up 1.5%.
Also in the FTSE 100, recently beaten down stocks with exposure to South Africa gained ground, with Mondi the top blue-chip gainer, up 1.8%, and Old Mutual closing up 1.5%.
The FTSE 250 gained 0.1% to 17,415.10 points. The AIM All-Share index outperformed slightly, rising 0.4% to end at 728.24.
"After a volatile few weeks for stock markets driven mostly by central bank intervention and plummeting commodity prices, Christmas Eve has produced its traditional snooze-fest," commented Jasper Lawler, a market analyst with CMC Markets.
The CAC 40 in Paris was down 0.2% at the London close. Frankfurt was closed for trading Thursday, while Paris was open for a half-day session, closing soon after London.
Wall Street was pointed toward a flat to higher open, with the Dow 30 and NASDAQ Composite both seen up 0.1%, and the S&P 500 flat. New York also has a half session Thursday, closing at 1800 GMT. US markets reopen on Monday, while London remains closed for the Boxing Day bank holiday.
In Asia, the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong closed up 0.4%. The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo closed down 0.5%, having reopened after the Emperor's Birthday holiday on Wednesday.
Members of the Bank of Japan's monetary policy meeting noted that the country's economic recovery continues at a satisfactory pace, minutes from the central bank's November 18-19 meeting revealed on Thursday. The board said that weakness from commodity-exporting economies continue to be the primary downside risk.
Brent oil was quoted at USD37.55 a barrel midday Thursday, up from USD36.92 a barrel at the equities close Wednesday. West Texas Intermediate trades at USD37.70 a barrel, up from USD37.34 late Wednesday and holding onto its recently gained premium to its fellow crude market benchmark.
Oil found support after the US Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday that crude inventories fell by 5.9 million barrels in the week ended December 18. Analysts had been expecting a small build in stocks. Meanwhile, OPEC forecast on Wednesday that oil prices will recover to USD70 a barrel by 2020, and will continue moving higher, but will only be at USD95 a barrel by 2040.
Gold was quoted at USD1,073.10 per ounce at the equities close Thursday, up from USD1,069.14 late Wednesday in London.
The pound also continued to bounce back from an eight-month low against the dollar of USD1.4810 set on Tuesday. It is quoted at the London equities close Thursday at USD1.4908, up from USD1.4872 at the close on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the euro was trading at 1.0950, up from USD1.0877 the day before.
UK house purchase approvals unexpectedly declined in November, after a rebound in the previous month, figures from the British Bankers' Association showed.
The number of approvals for house purchase fell to a seasonally adjusted 44,960 from 45,463 in October, revised from 45,437. Economists had forecast a higher figure of 46,000. Year-on-year, approvals rose 20% in November. All months this year thus far witnessed annual increases in approvals, the BBA said.
NCC Group, a provider of escrow, assurance and domain services, was promoted to the FTSE 250 index on Thursday. The promotion outside the quarterly review comes after shares in FTSE 250-listed technology company Pace were cancelled from trading on Wednesday following its acquisition by the US's ARRIS Group. NCC shares closed down 1.1% Thursday.
FTSE 250-listed metals miner Polymetal said it has entered into a joint venture with OJCS Polyus Gold, under which the former will work on developing the Nezhdaninskoye gold deposit in Yakutia in Russia. Polymetal will acquire a 50% stake in the JSC South-Verkhoyansk Mining Co business, which holds the rights to the deposit. The stock closed up 2.1% Thursday.
On AIM, Sirius Minerals said it has signed a 'Take or Pay' offtake agreement in China with Huaken International for the purchase of polyhalite from the York potash project, in what analysts called a "major step forward" for the AIM-listed miner.
The agreement is for a period of seven years from first production and pricing is based on a formula linked to polyhalite's constituent nutrients that are consistent with a number of the company's other offtake agreements, Sirius said. Broker WH Ireland said it believes the pricing of other offtake deals to be around USD150 per tonne.
The volumes called for in the contract with Huaken ramp up to 500,000 tonnes in the seventh year, in line with the ramp up of the York potash project. Take or Pay refers to a contract whereby the buyer either purchases output from the supplier at a pre-agreed price or faces paying the supplier a penalty.
"This is another major step forward for Sirius, further de-risking the project from a marketing perspective," investment bank Liberum commented. Sirius Minerals shares closed up 11%.
By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com; @thomaslwaite
Copyright 2015 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
