(Sharecast News) - London stocks rose in early trade on Thursday, underpinned by a strong showing in the mining sector, as investors mulled the Federal Reserve's latest policy announcement, a slew of US tech earnings and a raft of UK corporate releases.
At 0845 GMT, the FTSE 100 was up 0.6% at 10,212.27.
The Federal Reverse kept its benchmark rate steady at 3.5% to 3.75% on Wednesday, as widely expected.
Derren Nathan, head of equity research at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "The FTSE 100 has bounced back this morning after losing half a percent yesterday.
"After a steady session yesterday, which briefly touched fresh highs, US stock futures are up slightly with the Nasdaq posting the biggest gains after earnings beats across the board for Tesla, Meta and Microsoft. There were after-hours gains for Tesla and Meta as investors embraced Mark Zuckerberg's turbo charged investment plans to bridge the AI gap, and Elon Musk's vision of tomorrow's world. However, Microsoft stock devalued by 6%, with in-line cloud growth of 39% not enough to lift spirits as markets focussed on lighter than expected margin guidance.
"As expected, there were no changes to US base rates yesterday, but Jerome Powell's commentary painted a picture of underlying strength in the world's largest economy, which even he admitted had caught him by surprise. Easing inflation, solid growth and stable employment mean the bank's in no hurry to cut rates again with markets not expecting a further cut before Powell's scheduled departure in May.
"As it stands, his successor looks set to inherit an economy heading for a soft landing, or better still, no landing at all. But he was quick to stress the importance of continued independence and the need to steer clear of elected politics, most likely a response to Donald Trump's continuing pressure for looser monetary policy. If the economy is allowed to overheat, there's a chance that these solid foundations start to crack."
In UK equity markets, 3i Group surged to the top of the FTSE 100 as the private equity firm reported a further rise in net asset value over the nine months to December, supported by another strong year from Dutch retailer Action, which continued to drive the group's overall performance.
Antofagasta rose as it posted a spike in fourth-quarter copper production and forecast further growth for the in-demand metal.
Miners more generally were in the black, with Anglo American, Glencore and Rio Tinto all higher as copper prices rose.
Precious metals miner Fresnillo shone, along with Hochschild and Endeavour, as gold prices breached $5,500 an ounce.
EasyJet was up as it reiterated full-year guidance on the back of robust first-quarter sales and growing demand for summer holidays.
Wizz Air flew higher as it said operating losses widened in the third quarter but struck a more optimistic tone about keeping revenue steady. Traders also said a huge short interest in Wizz was exaggerating the share price move.
On the downside, equipment rental firm Ashtead was the worst performer on the FTSE 100 following disappointing quarterly results from US peer United Rentals.
Victrex fell sharply as it traded without entitlement to the dividend, while Ocado shares tanked after it said Canadian supermarket Sobeys, one of its partners, has decided to close its customer fulfilment centre in Calgary.
Hilton Foods slumped as it struck a cautious tone on the outlook, warning that US stock write-offs would be "significantly higher" than indicated and that inflationary pressures in beef and white fish were set to continue.
Lloyds Bank dipped despite reporting a better-than-expected 12% jump in annual profit driven by higher income which offset 800m set aside to compensate customers who were mis-sold motor finance.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,212.27 0.57%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 23,458.45 0.29%
techMARK (TASX) 5,904.63 -0.22%
FTSE 100 - Risers
3i Group (III) 3,611.00p 14.74%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 3,948.00p 6.47%
Anglo American (AAL) 3,605.00p 3.71%
Fresnillo (FRES) 4,258.00p 3.45%
Glencore (GLEN) 521.10p 3.02%
Metlen Energy & Metals (MTLN) 47.60p 2.70%
Diageo (DGE) 1,663.50p 2.53%
Weir Group (WEIR) 3,340.00p 2.52%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 6,919.00p 2.49%
easyJet (EZJ) 486.40p 2.25%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Ashtead Group (AHT) 4,894.00p -4.26%
The Sage Group (SGE) 973.80p -2.17%
Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH) 4,530.00p -1.48%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 365.50p -1.19%
Airtel Africa (AAF) 348.40p -0.91%
BT Group (BT.A) 188.15p -0.79%
Alliance Witan (ALW) 1,256.00p -0.79%
Smurfit Westrock (DI) (SWR) 3,090.00p -0.74%
National Grid (NG.) 1,221.50p -0.73%
Severn Trent (SVT) 2,914.00p -0.61%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 1,419.00p 9.66%
Endeavour Mining (EDV) 4,778.00p 5.47%
Harbour Energy (HBR) 232.00p 2.84%
Rank Group (RNK) 93.50p 2.75%
BlackRock World Mining Trust (BRWM) 1,042.00p 2.56%
Baillie Gifford US Growth Trust (USA) 285.00p 2.33%
Pan African Resources (PAF) 150.00p 2.18%
Discoverie Group (DSCV) 660.00p 2.17%
Ithaca Energy (ITH) 180.20p 2.04%
Lion Finance Group (BGEO) 10,070.00p 1.92%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Victrex plc (VCT) 671.00p -8.71%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 225.10p -8.38%
Hilton Food Group (HFG) 478.00p -7.00%
Pennon Group (PNN) 552.00p -2.30%
4Imprint Group (FOUR) 4,040.00p -1.94%
Primary Health Properties (PHP) 104.00p -1.89%
Supermarket Income Reit (SUPR) 84.60p -1.74%
Ceres Power Holdings (CWR) 305.00p -1.61%
Sequoia Economic Infrastructure Income Fund Limited (SEQI) 79.50p -1.61%
The European Smaller Companies Trust (ESCT) 226.50p -1.31%
103.42 (1.02%)
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