London close: Stocks jump as optimism over China grows

Markets rallied strongly on Friday as economic data from the world's top metals consumer, China, sparked some impressive gains in the heavyweight mining sector.A day after trade figures came in ahead of expectations, the outlook for China brightened further with strong industrial production figures and subdued inflation pointing to a stabilisation in the world's second-largest economy.Meanwhile, it seems like there's no letting up in positive economic data closer to home with the overall UK trade deficit shrinking to £1.55bn in June, down from £2.61bn previously and well below the £2.20bn forecast, as exports picked up more than expected. This is the smallest deficit since January and "further brightens the economic picture", according to UK Economist Martin Beck from Capital Economics.The FTSE 100 finished 53.71 points higher on Friday at 6,593.39, a rise of 0.82%.Chinese data in focusChinese 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, under the expected increase to 2.8% and still well below the 3.5% government target, which analysts believe leaves Beijing with room to implement more stimulus to boost growth.Chinese retail sales growth fell slightly from 13.3% to 13.2% last month, missing the forecast of an acceleration to 13.5% though Erlam said the 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."Miners rally strongly after Chinese dataMining stocks were dominating risers lists today after the well-received data from China. Fresnillo was the standout performer on the FTSE 100 as the stock attempted to claw its way back after disappointing markets earlier in the week with a drop in first-half profits.Antofagasta, Randgold, Glencore Xstrata, Anglo American, Rio Tinto and Vedanta Resources were also putting in a strong performance today.Meanwhile, Hochschild Mining, African Barrick Gold, Kazakhmys and EVRAZ were among the best performers on the FTSE 250, making gains of 10% or more.Tesco was on shopping lists today after saying it was in talks to merge its Chinese retail operations with those of China Resources Enterprise to create a supermarket giant with other annual sales of £10bn.Lloyds was also making gains after Morgan Stanley upgraded the bank from 'equalweight' to 'overweight', saying that it will benefit from a strong housing market while visibility on its future payout improves.Sector peers RBS, HSBC and Barclays also finished in positive territory.FTSE 100 - RisersFresnillo (FRES) 1,035.00p +8.15%Antofagasta (ANTO) 942.00p +7.47%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 4,722.00p +6.83%Glencore Xstrata (GLEN) 297.50p +6.10%Anglo American (AAL) 1,542.50p +6.05%Vedanta Resources (VED) 1,242.00p +5.43%Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,167.50p +5.01%BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,963.50p +3.40%Aggreko (AGK) 1,704.00p +3.21%Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 228.90p +2.55%FTSE 100 - FallersStandard Life (SL.) 365.00p -3.31%Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 476.40p -2.00%Carnival (CCL) 2,459.00p -1.32%Next (NXT) 4,934.00p -1.28%Persimmon (PSN) 1,232.00p -1.20%Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,547.00p -1.02%InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 1,959.00p -0.96%TUI Travel (TT.) 376.80p -0.95%Hammerson (HMSO) 513.50p -0.77%Legal & General Group (LGEN) 196.80p -0.76%FTSE 250 - RisersHochschild Mining (HOC) 239.20p +23.68%African Barrick Gold (ABG) 128.60p +12.02%Evraz (EVR) 104.50p +9.71%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 285.00p +9.15%Lonmin (LMI) 350.50p +7.65%Ferrexpo (FXPO) 193.00p +5.93%Renishaw (RSW) 1,720.00p +5.52%Dialight (DIA) 1,250.00p +5.22%Henderson Group (HGG) 175.80p +4.21%Xaar (XAR) 875.00p +3.86%FTSE 250 - FallersBarratt Developments (BDEV) 338.00p -3.70%Spirent Communications (SPT) 140.10p -3.38%Crest Nicholson Holdings (CRST) 335.60p -3.29%Ocado Group (OCDO) 282.00p -3.06%Howden Joinery Group (HWDN) 282.00p -2.56%Dixons Retail (DXNS) 44.59p -2.45%Home Retail Group (HOME) 155.40p -2.33%Redrow (RDW) 245.40p -2.27%BH Global Ltd. USD Shares (BHGU) 11.6 -2.19%Ashtead Group (AHT) 675.00p -2.03%BC