(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London started higher on Friday, the market reopening after a two-day Christmas break, with the FTSE 100 rising for the 11th successive session.
The FTSE 100 index was up 20.89 points, or 0.3% at 7,653.13. So far this year, the UK flagship index has risen 14%, putting it on track for its best annual performance in three years. The final trading session of 2019 will be a half-day on Tuesday for New Year's Eve.
The mid-cap FTSE 250 index was up 13.70 points, or 0.1%, at 21,994.79 on Friday, and the AIM All-Share index was 0.1% higher at 951.33.
The Cboe UK 100 index was up 0.3% at 12,966.70. The Cboe 250 was 0.1% higher at 19,864.94, and the Cboe Small Companies was flat at 12,140.27.
In mainland Europe, the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.1% and the DAX 30 in Frankfurt flat. Markets in France and Germany reopened after being closed for Christmas Day and Boxing Day. In Germany, they were closed on Christmas Eve as well.
In the FTSE 100, gold miner Polymetal international was up 1.8% tracking spot gold prices higher. Midcap peer Fresnillo was up 3.5%.
The precious metal was quoted at USD1,508.79 an ounce early Friday, up from USD1,489.92 late Tuesday.
At the other end of the large-cap index, under-fire NMC Health opened as the worst performer, down 1.8%. The UAE-focused private healthcare firm early Friday defended itself against a specific line of attack by short seller Muddy Waters.
NMC said STH Consultant, the engineering consultant retained by NMC, has provided written confirmation of the total built-up floor area of NMC Royal Women's Hospital in Abu Dhabi at 18,595 metres squared.
It also made publicly available floor plans for the hospital approved by the Health Authority of Abu Dhabi. The statement came in response to attacks on the hospital operator by Muddy Waters Capital over its accountancy practises.
Last week, Muddy Waters highlighted a USD107.4 million investment by NMC in the redevelopment of NMC Royal Women's Hospital, previously known as Brightpoint Royal Women's Hospital. "Red flags" in this investment, it said, included the cost being USD7,700 per square metre, exceeding Muddy Waters' expectation of USD3,500 to USD4,000.
Elsewhere, Zenith Energy was up 7.5% after the oil and gas firm agreed to acquire an 80% stake in Anglo African Oil & Gas's subsidiary Anglo African Oil & Gas Congo for GBP1 million.
Anglo African Oil & Gas was up 3.5%.
Upon completion of the transaction, Anglo African Oil & Gas will become a cash shell on AIM. The company said it intends to use the proceeds from the disposal to finance its day-to-day operations and consider potential reverse takeover options.
The pound was quoted at USD1.3035 early Friday, up from USD1.2951 at the London equities close Tuesday.
The euro was quoted at USD1.1134, up from USD1.1079 at the European equities close Tuesday.
Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JPY109.49, flat compared to JPY109.41 Tuesday afternoon.
Brent oil was quoted at USD67.98 a barrel, up from USD66.78 at the London equities close Tuesday.
The Japanese Nikkei 225 index closed down 0.4% on Friday. In China, the Shanghai Composite closed down 0.1%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong ended up 1.2%.
Japan's industrial production slipped 0.9% in November from the previous month, while the unemployment rate fell, the country's government said Friday.
The drop marked a second consecutive month of decline, following a 4.5% drop in October. Industrial production fared slightly better than the median forecast of a 1.2% fall, as predicted by analysts surveyed by the Nikkei Business Daily newspaper.
Meanwhile, Japan's unemployment rate fell to 2.2% in November from 2.4% in the previous month.
By Arvind Bhunjun; arvindbhunjun@alliancenews.com
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Zenith Energy (ZEN)
Fresnillo (FRES)