London close: FTSE 100 near seven-week high

15th Jul 2013 16:28

Decent gains in the financial sector boosted the FTSE 100 on Monday as markets welcomed in-line growth figures from China and record highs on Wall Street.The FTSE 100 finished 41 points higher at 6,586 today; the last time it closed higher was on May 30th when it reached 6,657.While the index closed well below its intraday high, buying picked up slightly in afternoon trade after US banking giant Citigroup followed in the footsteps of Wells Fargo and JPMorgan to beat analysts' forecasts with its quarterly earnings.Upbeat corporate earnings pushed the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 to their all-time closing highs on Friday, with both extending gains slightly after the opening bell on Wall Street today.As expected, the annual rate of Chinese gross domestic product (GDP) growth fell from 7.7% to 7.5% in the second quarter. This came as a relief to investors after the country's Finance Minister warned on Friday that growth would average 7.0% in 2013, below the government's 7.5% target. While figures met forecasts, Market Strategist Ishaq Siddiqi from ETX Capital said: "there's no getting away from the fact that the GDP numbers from China depict a slowing economy and worse still, policymakers are content with the slowdown, focusing on structural reforms to put China on a path of a consumption driven economy over the investment driven one it has become." An improving outlook for Britain's economy also helped lift sentiment on markets today: the Ernst & Young Item Club said the economy will expand 1.1% this year, compared to an April estimate of 0.6%; meanwhile, property website Rightmove said that home sellers predicted values would now climb 4.0% this year instead of the 2.0% previously forecast.FTSE 100: Financials lead risersFinancials stocks were performing well today with Royal Bank of Scotland the standout performer. Analyst Ian Gordon from Investec said he still sees further upside to the share price even after its impressive 13% rise over the past seven days.Lloyds Banking Group was also higher as speculation ramps up about its re-privatisation. Well-known investor Richard Buxton said that if the sale of a government stake is at a modest discount to the share price, it could be an "attractive opportunity to top up".Financial peers Schroders, Legal & General and Aviva also finished higher.On the downside, accountancy software firm Sage Group declined sharply as Morgan Stanley reiterated its 'equal weight' stance on the stock, keeping its 320p target price unchanged which suggests nearly 13% downside from Friday's closing price.Security firm G4S was still under pressure from the fall-out of a Serious Fraud Office investigation into overcharging on public-sector outsourcing contracts. HSBC cut its target prices for the stock today. According to weekend reports, G4S has talked with big shareholders about a possible rights issue to repair its balance sheet. FTSE 250: Retailers gain as data shows increase in footfallRetail stocks were on shopping lists after data from the British Retail Consortium showed that footfall inched 0.1% higher in June, compared with a year ago. With the increase coming from High Street and out-of-town locations, retailers like SuperGroup, Sports Direct and Home Retail were making gains today.SuperGroup was also benefitting from some kind words from analyst Wayne Brown at Canaccord Genuity today, who said that a "business of this quality should be trading on a price-to-earnings multiple of 20 (currently 15) which would place it at parity with the peer group". Heading the other way was Salamander Energy which dropped after saying it plugged and abandoned its G4/50-4 exploration well in the Gulf of Thailand. The well encountered a 119 metre section of quality P20 Miocene sandstones, but they were found to be water-wet following logging and sampling.Engineering software firm AVEVA was also a heavy faller after its share consolidation - approved last week by shareholders - became effective. The company said in May that it would return around £100m to shareholders via a special dividend, which would be accompanied by a share consolidation to maintain the share price.FTSE 100 - RisersRoyal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 320.00p +5.12%Schroders (SDR) 2,488.00p +2.56%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 69.44p +2.52%ITV (ITV) 161.30p +2.15%Capita (CPI) 1,049.00p +2.14%Legal & General Group (LGEN) 189.70p +1.88%Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,396.00p +1.82%Aviva (AV.) 366.60p +1.69%Admiral Group (ADM) 1,391.00p +1.61%Experian (EXPN) 1,201.00p +1.52%FTSE 100 - FallersAggreko (AGK) 1,758.00p -2.98%Sage Group (SGE) 356.10p -2.94%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 4,272.00p -2.75%Fresnillo (FRES) 958.50p -2.29%Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 1,269.00p -1.93%Aberdeen Asset Management (ADN) 409.00p -1.18%Antofagasta (ANTO) 823.00p -1.14%Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 206.10p -1.10%Resolution Ltd. (RSL) 315.20p -1.04%G4S (GFS) 207.50p -0.95%FTSE 250 - RisersSupergroup (SGP) 942.50p +5.13%Redrow (RDW) 252.00p +4.69%Sports Direct International (SPD) 593.00p +4.49%Kier Group (KIE) 1,486.00p +4.06%Henderson Group (HGG) 175.20p +3.24%Chemring Group (CHG) 311.70p +3.21%Carpetright (CPR) 679.50p +3.19%Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 145.70p +3.11%Inmarsat (ISAT) 695.50p +3.11%Home Retail Group (HOME) 149.20p +2.83%FTSE 250 - FallersSalamander Energy (SMDR) 135.00p -11.01%Aveva Group (AVV) 2,434.00p -8.69%Man Group (EMG) 88.25p -4.02%Computacenter (CCC) 490.00p -3.92%IP Group (IPO) 147.90p -3.65%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 245.90p -3.64%Ocado Group (OCDO) 331.30p -3.41%Hochschild Mining (HOC) 145.20p -3.20%Genus (GNS) 1,365.00p -3.05%African Barrick Gold (ABG) 101.80p -3.05%BC