London close: FTSE ends higher as markets rebound
The FTSE ended Friday's session on a positive note after a week of volatile and largely negative trading.
FTSE 100
8,078.86
17:14 25/04/24
Petrofac Ltd.
23.54p
16:35 25/04/24
Rolls-Royce Holdings
405.70p
17:15 25/04/24
Shell 'A'
1,895.20p
17:05 28/01/22
Shell 'B'
1,894.60p
17:05 28/01/22
Synthomer
232.00p
16:35 25/04/24
Travis Perkins
719.50p
16:45 25/04/24
The top tier index settled 114.38 points higher at 6,310.29, limiting the week's losses to 32.63, or 0.51%.
"In London equities are finishing the week on a positive note as Greek bond yields retreat," said IG market analyst David Madden.
"The fear has evaporated out of the Eurozone today as the bond markets have calmed down, but I wouldn’t get too comfortable as next week is likely to be a rocky ride.
"The Eurozone debt crisis has a history of rearing its ugly head, Ebola has yet to be contained, China’s GDP report will tell us the golden days of Chinese growth are over. Confidence in equity markets takes months to be gained, but it is lost in hours."
It was a relatively quiet session in the UK, although the chief economist at the Bank of England did reveal that he has become "gloomier" about the economy, saying that interest rates could remain at their record-low level of 0.5% for a little while longer.
Speaking at the Kenilworth Chamber of Trade Business breakfast, Andy Haldane explained that the UK economy is "twin-peaked" and appears to be "writhing in both agony and ecstasy".
Positive US data provides lift
A report showed US housing starts rose 6.3% in September following a 12.8% drop a month earlier, compared to expectations of a 5.4% increase.
Meanwhile, the University of Michigan's consumer confidence index rose to 86.4 in October, higher than the 84 consensus forecast and in line with the previous month's reading.
"The rise in consumer confidence to a seven-year high in October is another indication that the US economic outlook remains strong," commented analysts at Capital Economics.
"That said, the preliminary survey results pre-date the recent equity market sell-off, so the final survey reading could come in substantially lower."
Oil stocks lead FTSE higher
Tullow Oil, Shell and a number of other oil companies all ended in positive territory thanks to a continued rebound in crude prices.
Fears about an oversupply of oil saw West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude drop below $80 a barrel this week, while Brent futures sank to a four-year low of $83.78 a barrel. Oil services stocks have sunk sharply as of late on concerns that depressed oil prices may prompt producers to scale back their project spend.
Oilfield services group Petrofac also ended higher after saying it is on track to hit profit targets this year, as its backlog improved over the third quarter and net debt reduced.
Power systems giant Rolls-Royce saw its shares sink after saying it now expects underlying sales to fall 3.5-4% this year on the back of worsening trading conditions, compared with its previous forecast for no change. It also warned that growth might not return in 2015, as previously expected, with underlying revenue guidance for next year now at +/-3%.
UK building merchant Travis Perkins also traded lower after reporting that like-for-like sales continued to slow in the third quarter as it saw a "very challenging" plumbing and heating market.
Synthomer shares climbed after one of its directors, Malaysian plantation magnate Dato' Lee Hau Hian, this week purchased multiple batches of shares, helping the group's share price recover from a 12-month low in the wake of recent mixed interim results.
Market Movers
techMARK 2,623.74 +1.50%
FTSE 100 6,310.29 +1.85%
FTSE 250 14,757.62 +1.92%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Tullow Oil (TLW) 524.00p +8.29%
Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 1,060.00p +7.34%
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 921.00p +5.74%
Sports Direct International (SPD) 606.50p +5.48%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 244.80p +5.06%
Royal Mail (RMG) 431.70p +4.63%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 946.50p +4.47%
CRH (CRH) 1,319.00p +4.19%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 961.00p +4.12%
SABMiller (SAB) 3,285.50p +4.10%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 832.00p -11.54%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 4,224.00p -3.56%
Fresnillo (FRES) 798.00p -2.09%
Admiral Group (ADM) 1,222.00p -1.45%
Travis Perkins (TPK) 1,621.00p -0.98%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 4,186.50p -0.91%
Experian (EXPN) 935.50p -0.32%
British Sky Broadcasting Group (BSY) 849.00p -0.12%
Anglo American (AAL) 1,365.00p -0.11%
Pearson (PSON) 1,131.00p -0.09%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Just Eat (JE.) 275.60p +8.04%
IP Group (IPO) 198.80p +7.11%
Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 110.20p +6.89%
Ophir Energy (OPHR) 194.40p +6.75%
Alent (ALNT) 323.10p +5.66%
EnQuest (ENQ) 76.75p +5.57%
Man Group (EMG) 117.90p +5.55%
Aveva Group (AVV) 1,476.00p +5.28%
International Personal Finance (IPF) 450.80p +5.25%
Cairn Energy (CNE) 163.00p +5.16%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 55.85p -3.62%
Synergy Health (SYR) 1,744.00p -1.75%
African Barrick Gold (ABG) 198.00p -1.35%
Rightmove (RMV) 2,039.00p -1.31%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 419.10p -1.06%
Domino Printing Sciences (DNO) 579.50p -1.02%
Brown (N.) Group (BWNG) 305.40p -0.84%
Micro Focus International (MCRO) 992.00p -0.75%
Zoopla Property Group (WI) (ZPLA) 200.00p -0.55%
Perform Group (PER) 259.70p -0.50%