London close: FTSE 100 hits fresh record as miners surge

(Sharecast News) - Strong gains from the mining and banking sectors helped propel the FTSE 100 to another record high on Tuesday in another quiet trading session for financial markets ahead of the New Year break.

The FTSE 100 finished 0.8% higher at 9,940.71, topping the previous closing record high of 9,911.42 set on 12 November.

"Could there be a fairytale ending to the year for London's blue-chip index? The FTSE 100 ended the day at 9,940, another fresh record high and tantalisingly close to that 10,000 mark which at the start of the year seemed inconceivable," said Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell.

"The global nature of the inhabitants of London's top-flight index has helped it avoid the doldrums which have held back the more domestically focused FTSE 250 - although even it was experiencing that end of year phenomenon often referred to as a 'Santa rally' today.

No major economic data was released across Europe or the US on Tuesday, while corporate news was thin on the ground, with many traders away from their desk for the festive holidays.

Mining stocks shine

Precious metals miner Fresnillo was the standout performer on the FTSE 100, jumping 7% as gold and silver prices recovered after a selloff on Monday. FTSE 250 peers Hochschild Mining and Endeavour also rose strongly.

Meanwhile, heavily-weighted miners Anglo American, Antofagasta, Glencore and Rio Tinto were also sharply higher.

Banks gained, with Barclays, Standard Chartered and HSBC all up.

Grocery technology firm Ocado rallied late on following earlier losses after announcing it is rolling off exclusivity arrangements by the end of the year in the majority of markets as it pushes for fresh partnerships with supermarkets.

Elsewhere, Edinburgh Worldwide Investment Trust finished slightly higher after its saga with Saba rumbled on. EWIT hit back at the New York-based investment firm's demands to replace the trust's entire board, calling for the major stakeholder to be open about its intentions.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 9,940.71 0.75%

FTSE 250 (MCX) 22,558.36 0.67%

techMARK (TASX) 5,626.36 0.57%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Fresnillo (FRES) 3,412.00p 6.83%

Antofagasta (ANTO) 3,316.00p 3.27%

Airtel Africa (AAF) 355.40p 3.25%

Glencore (GLEN) 406.50p 2.52%

Anglo American (AAL) 3,056.00p 2.38%

Babcock International Group (BAB) 1,242.00p 2.05%

Barratt Redrow (BTRW) 381.50p 1.95%

JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 85.28p 1.84%

Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 327.50p 1.83%

Barclays (BARC) 476.80p 1.61%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

CRH (CDI) (CRH) 9,370.00p -0.68%

Metlen Energy & Metals (MTLN) 44.25p -0.67%

Experian (EXPN) 3,409.00p -0.64%

Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH) 4,794.00p -0.58%

Intertek Group (ITRK) 4,630.00p -0.56%

DCC (CDI) (DCC) 4,672.00p -0.38%

Convatec Group (CTEC) 242.20p -0.33%

Croda International (CRDA) 2,760.00p -0.22%

Unilever (ULVR) 4,856.00p -0.08%

Ashtead Group (AHT) 5,142.00p -0.08%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Hochschild Mining (HOC) 530.00p 6.64%

W.A.G Payment Solutions (EWG) 107.00p 2.88%

Pan African Resources (PAF) 123.40p 2.83%

THG (THG) 46.34p 2.70%

Carnival (CCL) 2,291.00p 2.51%

WPP (WPP) 340.80p 2.34%

Endeavour Mining (EDV) 3,902.00p 2.20%

Coats Group (COA) 84.70p 2.05%

Investec (INVP) 561.50p 2.00%

Bluefield Solar Income Fund Limited (BSIF) 68.70p 1.93%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Ceres Power Holdings (CWR) 214.80p -1.65%

Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) 128.10p -1.23%

Johnson Service Group (JSG) 134.80p -1.03%

IP Group (IPO) 58.50p -1.02%

Applied Nutrition (APN) 253.50p -0.98%

Raspberry PI Holdings (RPI) 298.70p -0.85%

Ruffer Investment Company Ltd Red PTG Pref Shares (RICA) 292.50p -0.85%

Pets at Home Group (PETS) 198.80p -0.70%

4Imprint Group (FOUR) 3,865.00p -0.64%

Bakkavor Group (BAKK) 236.50p -0.63%