FTSE 100 rebounds on Japan’s stimulus
The blue chip index opened up this morning, as investors were encouraged by the Bank of Japan’s decision to extend its asset purchase programme by 10 trillion yen.
Miners led the index up in early trading, as investors were also buoyed by the end of the strike at Lonmin’s Marikana mine.
Ferrexpo added 4.74 per cent in early trade, while gold producer Centamin rose 4.63 per cent.
Platinum miner Lonmin, which last night announced that the striking miners had accepted a pay offer and were returning to work today, jumped 4.62 per cent in early trading.
Other headline miners Kazakhmys and Petropavlovsk rose 3.17 and 2.8 per cent respectively.
Logistics firm Stobart rose almost three per cent on news of a boardroom reshuffle.
The fallers were a mixed bag, with some financials and service providers losing ground this morning.
Derivatives trader IG Group fell 3.71 per cent, while insurer Aviva dropped 3.6 per cent.
Daily Mirror publisher Trinity Mirror dropped almost three per cent in early deals, while Aga maker Aga Rangemaster fell 1.99 per cent.
Following construction group Kier’s drop in annual profits last week, it slumped almost two per cent during trading this morning.
With regards to UK banks, HSBC gained 1.35 per cent, while RBS was up 0.34 per cent. Barclays was down 0.65 per cent and Lloyds Banking Group dropped 2.63 per cent.
In Asia, the Nikkei hit its highest close in four months on news of the Japanese central bank’s stimulus. It closed up 1.19 per cent. Across the pond the Dow Jones closed up 0.09 per cent.