London close: Stocks soar after ISM data

2nd Apr 2012 16:49

- Chinese, UK, US PMIs beat expectations in March - Eurozone PMI disappoints, jobless rate on the up- Pearson leads the rise on the Footsie, miners also in demandAfter initially paring gains early on, the Footsie surged in afternoon trade on Monday after some better-than-expected manufacturing data from the US, with investors shrugging off some earlier gloomy data from the Eurozone. The benchmark index was trading over 100 points higher by the end of trade.According to the Institute for Supply Management (ISM), the US purchasing managers' index (PMI) for March increased by one point to 53.4 from 52.4 in February, beating expectations of 53. This is the 32nd month in a row that the index has been at least 50. Both the production index and employed index improved. "Of the 18 industries included in the survey, 15 are experiencing overall growth. Comments from the panel remain positive, with several respondents citing increased sales and demand for the next few months," the ISM said.Chinese and UK manufacturing data also impressed, with PMIs rising to an 11-month higher and 10-month high, respectively. However, manufacturing data from the Eurozone was less cheery. Markit's PMI for the single-currency region fell to a three-month low of 47.7, showing that the manufacturing sector is still in contraction. Furthermore, Eurostat revealed that unemployment across the Eurozone hit a 15-year high of 10.8% in February, compared with 10.7% in January and 10.0% in February 2011. Investors were still digesting Friday's news that the 17 finance ministers of the Eurozone decided to boost the region's firewall to €800bn.FTSE 100: PEARSON AND MINERS LEAD THE CHARGEFinancial Times publisher Pearson was trading up nearly 5% by the close, just two days before the stock goes ex-dividend. As of Wednesday, investors will no longer have the right to qualify for the group's latest dividend.Miners were performing well on the back of the upbeat manufacturing data from China, the UK and US, boosting the outlook for metals demand. Fresnillo, Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, Xstrata and Vedanta were among the highest risers. Sector peer Randgold was making only slight gains as a downgrade from Nomura has holding back gains.Diageo was in demand on the back of rumours that it is near to buying a further interest in Mexican tequila maker Jose Cuervo. According to media reports, Diageo could be buying a majority stake in the spirits group from Mexico's Beckmann family at a price that values the firm at over $3bn. Just a handful of stocks finished in the red on the blue chip index, one of which was Schroders with Investec saying this morning that the stock was fully valued at current levels. The broker highlighted its asset management sector preference as Aberdeen.Airline IAG was flying higher after the European Commission granted the authorisation needed for the airline to acquire British Midland Limited (BMI) from Lufthansa, adding that competition concerns were addressed by conditions that were part of the deal. Drugs giant GlaxoSmithKline was wanted after it reported positive results from an initial study into its development of a drug for HIV treatment. The group also announced today that it is to increase its stake in US biopharmaceutical company Theravance.FTSE 250: LSE SHAREHOLDERS UNDERWHELMED It's all-systems-go for the London Stock Exchange's agreed takeover of clearing house, LCH.Clearnet, as the bourse operator confirmed it has received acceptances of its offer from holders representing more than half of Clearnet's shares. Shares however, were flat. House building and construction group Galliford Try was out of favour despite having reached financial close on the Gateshead regeneration programme, for which it was named preferred bidder a year ago OTHER MARKETS Brent futures for May delivery were up 1.26% at $124.42 after the close in London.The euro was down 0.12% (-0.0016) against the dollar at $1.3328.FTSE 100 - RisersPearson (PSON) 1,221.00p +4.81%Fresnillo (FRES) 1,664.00p +4.13%Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 842.50p +3.76%SABMiller (SAB) 2,602.50p +3.71%Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,556.00p +3.19%BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,965.00p +3.01%Amec (AMEC) 1,141.00p +2.98%Diageo (DGE) 1,547.00p +2.96%International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 184.00p +2.85%Weir Group (WEIR) 1,813.00p +2.78%FTSE 100 - FallersSchroders (Non-Voting) (SDRC) 1,225.00p -1.21%Schroders (SDR) 1,562.00p -1.14%Man Group (EMG) 133.30p -1.11%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 33.58p -0.07%International Power (IPR) 404.90p -0.02%ICAP (IAP) 392.80p 0.00%British Land Co (BLND) 480.20p +0.06%Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,153.00p +0.09%Sage Group (SGE) 299.60p +0.13%Admiral Group (ADM) 1,189.00p +0.17%FTSE 250 - RisersCookson Group (CKSN) 732.50p +6.01%Daejan Holdings (DJAN) 3,176.00p +5.34%Ruspetro (RPO) 226.30p +4.77%Imagination Technologies Group (IMG) 716.00p +4.60%Salamander Energy (SMDR) 224.50p +4.42%PZ Cussons (PZC) 311.60p +3.97%Babcock International Group (BAB) 828.00p +3.95%Soco International (SIA) 307.50p +3.89%EnQuest (ENQ) 130.80p +3.73%Ophir Energy (OPHR) 525.00p +3.45%FTSE 250 - FallersFirstGroup (FGP) 225.00p -5.34%AG Barr (BAG) 1,135.00p -3.90%Savills (SVS) 365.00p -3.31%Perform Group (PER) 300.10p -3.19%JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 771.00p -3.08%Computacenter (CCC) 428.00p -2.95%Stagecoach Group (SGC) 248.20p -2.78%Anglo Pacific Group (APF) 305.80p -2.77%Bumi (BUMI) 610.00p -2.63%Misys (MSY) 349.00p -2.51%BC