London close: Weak pound, Chinese trade data boost Footsie
London stocks jumped at the end of the week, helped by weakness in the pound and as investors digested better than expected Chinese trade data.
The FTSE 100 was up 1.0% to 7,393.96, with the pound erasing 0.45% to trade at 1.1394 against the euro, having hit a six-month high of 1.1510 earlier. Sterling was also lower against the Greenback, losing 0.58% to 1.34006.
David Morrison, chief market analyst at GKFX, said: "Cable rallied in early trade this morning adding to yesterday's sharp gains following a breakthrough in Brexit negotiations overnight - a development which seemed impossible at the beginning of this week."
Earlier, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said "sufficient progress" was felt to have been made in the first phase of Brexit talks and recommended that the discussions move on to the next stage after both sides reached a preliminary agreement following a week of negotiations.
However, later on an EU official reportedly said Westminster's goal of concluding a trade deal by March 2019 was "unrealistic".
In addition, the dollar was being propped up by the fact that the Senate and House approved a two-week funding bill on Thursday, averting a government shutdown this weekend.
Juncker said the outcome of the first phase of talks was "of course a compromise" and that negotiations had been "difficult" for both sides. The text needs to be signed off by leaders of the EU member states at a summit next week.
Acting as a backdrop, data published overnight by China's Customs Administration revealed that the rate of growth in commodity import volumes accelerated to a 6.1% year-on-year clip in November, versus a 0.9% pace in October.
To take note of nonetheless, Julian Evans-Pritchard cautioned that the increase might be the result of Beijing's anti-pollution drive and resulting demand for foreign commodity supplies.
Back in the UK, economic releases in the UK painted a mixed picture. Industrial production growth slowed to a temporary halt in October after a six-month growth spurt, while manufacturing production grew 0.1% on the month, beating expectations for a flat reading.
Meanwhile, the trade deficit widened again in the three months to October, while construction output contracted, although new orders surged to their highest level on record.
In corporate news, housebuilders got a boost as Berkeley Group said it now expects to generate pre-tax profit of £3.3bn in the five years to 2021, up from £3bn previously and reported a 36% jump in half-year profit. Berkeley surged 9%, with Persimmon, Barratt Developments, Taylor Wimpey, Bovis Homes and Bellway all in the black.
Hammerson, which announced on Thursday a £3.4bn takeover deal for rival Intu Properties, was boosted by an upgrade to 'buy' at Goldman Sachs, having fallen in the previous session.
Vodafone was higher after confirming the end of its merger talks with Melita, putting the blame on regulators in Malta.
International Airlines Group flew higher after saying that its subsidiary, British Airways, has decided to launch a flexible benefits scheme incorporating a new defined contribution pension scheme.
John Laing gained ground after it said total investment commitments to date were well ahead of its original guidance for 2017, while IP Group rose after saying that its portfolio company Mirriad, has successfully priced its IPO.
Halma was hit by a downgrade to 'underweight' at JPMorgan Cazenove.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,393.96 1.00%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,992.54 0.92%
techMARK (TASX) 3,443.33 0.97%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 4,113.00p 6.94%
Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 445.30p 3.80%
Hammerson (HMSO) 526.50p 3.64%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 630.00p 3.62%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 66.80p 3.55%
Shire Plc (SHP) 3,648.00p 3.27%
ITV (ITV) 163.70p 3.02%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 202.90p 2.94%
SEGRO (SGRO) 561.00p 2.84%
Persimmon (PSN) 2,671.00p 2.49%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Intertek Group (ITRK) 5,050.00p -1.75%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 838.50p -0.59%
Informa (INF) 732.00p -0.54%
Centrica (CNA) 144.10p -0.48%
Sky (SKY) 993.00p -0.40%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 4,939.00p -0.39%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 2,319.00p -0.26%
SSE (SSE) 1,324.00p -0.23%
Relx plc (REL) 1,712.00p -0.17%
Mondi (MNDI) 1,694.00p -0.12%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 1,020.00p 7.09%
Millennium & Copthorne Hotels (MLC) 611.50p 6.14%
Dunelm Group (DNLM) 721.00p 4.80%
FDM Group (Holdings) (FDM) 915.00p 4.39%
Countryside Properties (CSP) 357.80p 4.39%
Great Portland Estates (GPOR) 659.50p 4.34%
TalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) 154.50p 4.04%
Restaurant Group (RTN) 286.20p 3.97%
Derwent London (DLN) 2,894.00p 3.84%
Evraz (EVR) 302.50p 3.81%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Stagecoach Group (SGC) 170.00p -5.71%
Investec (INVP) 461.40p -4.47%
Saga (SAGA) 135.60p -3.02%
Renishaw (RSW) 5,035.00p -2.33%
Nostrum Oil & Gas (NOG) 329.50p -1.93%
Cobham (COB) 122.00p -1.69%
Brown (N.) Group (BWNG) 257.00p -1.53%
Lancashire Holdings Limited (LRE) 673.00p -1.32%
Stobart Group Ltd. (STOB) 276.40p -1.25%
William Hill (WMH) 311.10p -1.24%