LONDON MARKET OPEN: Stocks Led Higher By Miners But Focus On Politics

LONDON (Alliance News) - Miners were the best performers in London in early trade on Friday amid a bounce in commodity prices, while sterling remained depressed as the market awaited the announcement of the date when UK Prime Minister Theresa May's occupancy of Downing Street will end.The FTSE 100 was up 41.98 points, or 0.6%, at 7,273.02 early Friday. The mid-cap FTSE 250 was up 101.71 points, or 0.5%, at 19,132.92. The AIM All-Share was up 0.1% at 958.81.The Cboe UK 100 index was up 0.6% at 12,330.86. The Cboe UK 250 was up 0.5% at 17,216.23, with the Cboe UK Small Companies up 0.1% at 11,775.13.In European equities, the CAC 40 in Paris and the DAX 30 in Frankfurt were up 0.6% and 0.8% respectively."For today, the domestic political situation is likely to remain at the front and centre of attention," said Lloyds Banking.Lloyds continued: "The pressure on PM May to resign has intensified over the past few days, especially following the resignation of the leader of the House of Commons, Andrea Leadsom, earlier this week."May is expected to set out when she will quit Number 10 after a Cabinet revolt over her Brexit plan.May will meet the leader of backbench Conservatives, Graham Brady, on Friday to discuss her future after her authority was left in tatters following the backlash against her "new Brexit deal".The prime minister's private meeting with Brady, chairman of the powerful 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers, could be the moment that May sets the date for her exit from Downing Street.A 1922 Committee source told the Press Association they expected June 10 to be the day May chooses.The new withdrawal agreement bill had been due to be published on Friday but that has been delayed in a sign of the chaos at the top of the government.Sterling was quoted at USD1.2673 early Friday, steady compared to USD1.2662 at the London equities close on Thursday.Miners were among the best performers in the FTSE 100 in early dealings, with Antofagasta up 1.7%, Anglo American and Rio Tinto both up 1.6%, and Glencore up 1.2%."Oil is off its lows having seen demand concerns related to trade uncertainty compound higher US inventories. Copper also bouncing. Watch miners and oil stocks after yesterday's weakness, with BHP and Rio Tinto positive in Australia overnight," commented Michael van Dulken at Accendo Markets.Oil was quoted at USD68.45 a barrel early Friday, up from USD67.75 on Thursday.In the FTSE 250, Royal Mail rose 6.7% after Goldman Sachs raised the stock to Buy from Neutral. On Wednesday, the postal operator said it will cut its normal dividend by two-thirds next year as it continued to push forward its wide-ranging turnaround and cost-cutting programme.Pub operator Mitchells & Butlers was gaining on the back of a ratings upgrade as well, shares rising 2.6% after Citigroup raised the stock to Buy from Neutral.Spectris was up 1.0% as the measuring instruments and controls company reported growth in year-to-date sales despite a slowing in some end markets.Like-for-like sales in the first four months of 2019 were up 3%, despite an anticipated moderation in certain end markets. On a reported basis, sales were up 6% in the period.By division, the company said there was strong like-for-like growth from In-Line Instrumentation and in Materials Analysis, despite continued challenges at Concept Life Sciences. Comparable sales declined in Test & Measurement and Industrial Controls, the latter hit by US-China tariffs and slowing US industrial production.Overall, Spectris said trading has been in line with annual expectations."While we note some challenges due to macro-economic and geopolitical uncertainties, we continue to focus on driving sales growth and focusing on what we can control - delivering our plan to enhance margins," the FTSE 250 constituent said.Mothercare was up 19% after the retailer reported a narrowed annual loss despite sales slipping, having postponed its results announcement by a day to Friday.Revenue for the 53 weeks to March 30 was GBP513.8 million, down from GBP580.6 million in the 52 weeks to March 24, 2018. However, the company's pretax loss narrowed to GBP66.6 million from GBP94.0 million.This was due to administrative costs falling to GBP76.9 million from GBP101.7 million. Including discontinued operations, Mothercare's loss swelled to GBP87.3 million from GBP72.8 million.UK like-for-like sales fell 8.9%, versus a 0.6% rise the year before. International like-for-like sales slipped 4.7% versus a 5.9% decline last year.The parenting products retailer said its current financial year should see the "final steps" towards the business completing its transformation, with Mothercare on track to meet consensus expectations.Old Mutual shares fell 5.1% after the financial services firm suspended Chief Executive Peter Moyo with immediate effect after a "material breakdown in trust and confidence".Anglo-South African Old Mutual did not give any further details, but said Chief Operating Officer Iain Williamson will become acting CEO.The economic events calendar on Friday has UK retail sales numbers at 0930 BST and US durable goods orders at 1330 BST.Already released, consumer prices in Japan climbed 0.9% year-on-year in April due to rising energy costs, official figures showed. The figure represented the 28th straight month of increase, said the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. But the inflation rate remained far off a 2% inflation goal set by the Bank of Japan in 2013.In Asia on Friday, the Japanese Nikkei 225 index closed down 0.2%. In China, the Shanghai Composite ended flat, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong is up 0.4%.