London open: Miners jump on hopes over Chinese growth

23rd Jul 2013 08:17

Fading hopes of a 'hard landing' in China lifted stocks in the heavyweight mining sector on Tuesday, meaning that the FTSE 100 opened with solid gains early on.Chinese Premier Li Keqiang assured that economic growth would not fall below the bottom line this year of 7.0%. He called for the government to allow China to grow within a "reasonable range", keeping activity above a "lower limit" and inflation below the "upper limit".Disappointing figures from the US yesterday, where existing-home sales unexpectedly fell in June, also spurred speculation that the Federal Reserve would not rush to withdraw its stimulus measures.Tullow sinks after well update; miners riseOil giant Tullow was a heavy faller this morning after the company said it had plugged and abandoned an exploration well in Mozambique and another in French Guiana.Budget airline easyJet was also in the red ahead of its third-quarter trading update due on Wednesday morning; British Airways owner IAG was also lower. The falls come after sector peer Ryanair announced its decision to sell its 29% stake in Irish airline Aer Lingus.Mining stocks were the best performers this morning on demand hopes after reassuring words over Chinese growth.Anglo American, ENRC, Glencore Xstrata, BHP Billiton, Fresnillo, Rio Tinto, Antofagasta and Vedanta were making solid gains.Investors welcomed the approval by Chinese authorities for Diageo to buy up the remaining 47% stake in SJF HoldCo for £233m. The investment lifts the company's indirect holding in Chinese premium spirits maker Sichuan Shuijingfang.Sage Group said it is confident of delivering its targets as trading in the third quarter was in line with expectations, giving shares a small lift early on.Speciality chemicals firm Croda fell after its interim results, in which it reported a 6.3% year-on-year rise in pre-tax profit and an 8.4% increase in the dividend. The company admitted that the "challenging trading environment has inevitable held back certain parts of the business".FTSE 100 - RisersAnglo American (AAL) 1,439.50p +2.46%Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 216.80p +1.74%Glencore Xstrata (GLEN) 273.50p +1.67%Antofagasta (ANTO) 859.50p +1.60%Fresnillo (FRES) 1,081.00p +1.60%Rio Tinto (RIO) 2,944.50p +1.45%BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,903.00p +1.44%BT Group (BT.A) 346.90p +1.08%BP (BP.) 473.00p +0.97%Old Mutual (OML) 198.90p +0.91%FTSE 100 - FallersTullow Oil (TLW) 1,034.00p -7.26%easyJet (EZJ) 1,333.00p -3.89%Croda International (CRDA) 2,519.00p -1.95%InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 1,937.00p -1.58%International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 284.60p -1.01%Whitbread (WTB) 3,147.00p -0.91%Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 4,657.00p -0.87%London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) 1,552.00p -0.58%Kingfisher (KGF) 386.90p -0.57%Capita (CPI) 1,052.00p -0.47%FTSE 250 - RisersAfrican Barrick Gold (ABG) 117.50p +4.35%PZ Cussons (PZC) 404.50p +4.25%Redrow (RDW) 253.70p +3.09%Hochschild Mining (HOC) 156.70p +2.96%United Drug (UDG) 354.90p +2.90%Evraz (EVR) 105.50p +2.33%Ferrexpo (FXPO) 171.20p +2.27%BH Global Ltd. USD Shares (BHGU) 11.86 +2.24%Alent (ALNT) 383.90p +2.13%Brewin Dolphin Holdings (BRW) 252.20p +2.02%FTSE 250 - FallersImagination Technologies Group (IMG) 260.40p -7.92%Beazley (BEZ) 234.90p -3.21%Carpetright (CPR) 670.50p -1.61%IG Group Holdings (IGG) 590.00p -1.34%Rank Group (RNK) 159.90p -1.30%Catlin Group Ltd. (CGL) 508.00p -1.26%Chemring Group (CHG) 309.40p -1.15%Ophir Energy (OPHR) 384.80p -1.08%Regus (RGU) 183.30p -0.97%Amlin (AML) 407.30p -0.88%BC