Mining gains push FTSE 100 to six-week high

The FTSE 100 closed 147.09 points higher, or 1.95%, to 7,673.08, its highest close since July 31.

London’s FTSE 100 surged to a six-week high on Thursday (PA) (PA Archive)

London’s FTSE 100 surged to a six-week high on Thursday amid a sea of green for global stock markets.

The UK’s top index leapt by more than 2% during the day with mining giants Anglo-American, Rio Tinto and Glencore leading the charge with gains of more than 5%.

It comes amid a surge in commodity prices with iron ore and oil rallying during the day, boosting commodity-rich stocks.

The FTSE 100 closed 147.09 points higher, or 1.95%, to 7,673.08, its highest close since July 31.

Commodity prices are surging this afternoon and this has lit a fire under the FTSE 100, prompting a rally that has taken the index to its highest levels in six weeks

Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG

Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at online trading platform IG, said: “Commodity prices are surging this afternoon and this has lit a fire under the FTSE 100, prompting a rally that has taken the index to its highest levels in six weeks.

“Oil and natural gas prices are enjoying a solid afternoon, with the result that Shell and BP have added over 20 points to the index, with Rio Tinto and Glencore following close behind.

“Optimism around economic growth prospects for Asia has meant that Asia-focused banks HSBC and Standard Chartered have led the banking sector higher too, resulting in the best day for the FTSE 100 since mid-July.”

Meanwhile on Thursday, the European Central Bank raised interest rates to the highest level since the euro was established in 1999.

But the ECB signalled that it could be the last in the cycle of interest rate hikes.

European stock markets also enjoyed a rally, with Germany’s Dax closing 0.97% higher and France’s Cac 40 up 1.19%.

The pound was down 0.6% against the US dollar to 1.241, and up 0.1% against the euro to 1.1642.

It was a strong start to trading in the US with the S&P 500 up 0.65% and the Dow Jones up 0.7% by the time European stock markets closed.

In company news, shares in Trainline surged after the travel platform announced returns for investors following a better-than-expected sales performance for the first half of the year.

The company said group revenues jumped by nearly a fifth over the period despite taking a hit from UK strike action, and revealed plans for a share buyback of up to £50 million over the next 12 months. Its share price rose by 11.6% on Thursday.

Elsewhere, shares in THG plunged by more than a fifth after the firm reported a jump in its losses over the first half of the year.

The Lookfantastic and MyProtein owner said its revenues were down nearly a tenth over the period as it sold off some parts of the business.

Chief executive Matthew Moulding maintained the results were “strong” with a rise in earnings before business costs.

But investors were less than impressed with the performance and its share price dropped 21.3% at close.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Anglo American, up 162.5p to 2,262.5p, Airtel Africa, up 7.6p to 126.3p, Rio Tinto, up 236p to 5,221p, Glencore, up 18.85p to 450.75p, and Flutter Entertainment, up 610p to 14,605p.

The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were Entain, down 10.5p to 1,154.5p, Smith & Nephew, down 9p to 1,059p, Next, down 44p to 7,134p, ConvaTec, down 1.2p to 224.4p, and IAG, down 0.75p to 153.05p.