London open: Stocks shrug off disappointing Asian data

1st Oct 2012 08:34

- UK stocks make strong gains early on- Japanese, Chinese figures disappoint- Xstrata rises after agreeing terms with GlencoreUK equities advanced on Monday morning in spite of some disappointing economic data from Asia as stock markets kicked off the fourth quarter on a positive note.The Bank of Japan's quarterly Tankan survey for large manufacturers fell from -1 to -3 in September, its fourth negative reading. Meanwhile, the HSBC/Markit China manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) stayed below 50, which continues to indicate contraction in the sector.However, helping sentiment this morning was Friday's release by auditor Oliver Wyman which estimated that the Spanish financial sector would need €59.3bn in funds in order to stay afloat, well within the €100bn limit given by the European Union."The broader market is higher from Friday's close, as the most compelling strategy currently adopted by investors is to position for equity outperformance relative to bonds," said financial trader David White from SpreadEx."This week is likely to be a repeat of the familiar themes and headline risks faced by the market for some time, namely pressured European debt and a slowing China. Participants will turn to non-farm numbers due out from the US on Friday for a guide as to whether or not the labour market is currently improving," he said.Xstrata and Glencore agree termsThe big news of the morning was that the so-called merger of equals between commodities trader Glencore and mining titan Xtsrata is back on after the independent directors of the latter agreed to Glencore's terms. Glencore was in the red early on while Xstrata was making gains.Glencore increased its terms to a "take it or leave it" offer of 3.05 Glencore shares for every Xstrata share back in early September and after an extended period of umming and aahing, the independent directors of Xstrata have agreed to recommend that Xstrata shareholders accept the offer.Banking stocks were in demand with Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds and Barclays benefiting from ratings upgrades from Liberum Capital, which lifted its recommendation on all three to 'buy'.Property firm Hammerson rose after selling one of its last central London office properties as it pushes forward with plans to focus solely on retail space. The deal means the firm has just one office building left in its portfolio. Sector peer British Land was also in the blue after offloading the Beehive Centre, a retail centre comprising 16 units including an Asda supermarket, to Orchard Street Investment Management, for £109.2m.Shares of Taylor Wimpey are on the up following an upgrade out of Citi this morning. FTSE 100 - RisersBarclays (BARC) 219.50p +2.16%Compass Group (CPG) 697.00p +1.98%Wolseley (WOS) 2,694.00p +1.97%Shire Plc (SHP) 1,847.00p +1.82%Schroders (SDR) 1,542.00p +1.58%International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 151.30p +1.54%Anglo American (AAL) 1,844.00p +1.49%Xstrata (XTA) 971.30p +1.44%Diageo (DGE) 1,762.50p +1.32%Smith & Nephew (SN.) 692.50p +1.32%FTSE 100 - FallersGlencore International (GLEN) 339.75p -0.98%CRH (CRH) 1,181.00p -0.92%Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 1,589.00p -0.38%Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 284.70p -0.18%Amec (AMEC) 1,144.00p -0.17%Tullow Oil (TLW) 1,368.00p -0.15%SSE (SSE) 1,390.00p -0.14%BP (BP.) 436.00p -0.11%Vedanta Resources (VED) 1,028.00p -0.10%Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 347.20p -0.09%FTSE 250 - RisersDunelm Group (DNLM) 657.50p +2.41%Supergroup (SGP) 610.50p +2.18%New World Resources A Shares (NWR) 270.40p +2.04%Barratt Developments (BDEV) 172.70p +1.89%Paragon Group Of Companies (PAG) 210.30p +1.89%Imagination Technologies Group (IMG) 483.80p +1.85%Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 55.30p +1.84%Domino Printing Sciences (DNO) 563.00p +1.72%Smith (DS) (SMDS) 189.00p +1.67%Home Retail Group (HOME) 90.55p +1.63%FTSE 250 - FallersBumi (BUMI) 146.00p -2.67%Stobart Group Ltd. (STOB) 115.50p -1.87%Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 1,356.10p -1.37%Kentz Corporation Ltd. (KENZ) 426.10p -1.11%Hiscox Ltd. (HSX) 481.60p -0.91%Ferrexpo (FXPO) 192.10p -0.88%Menzies(John) (MNZS) 640.00p -0.78%Fidessa Group (FDSA) 1,460.00p -0.75%BH Macro Ltd. EUR Shares (BHME) € 19.11 -0.73%St. Modwen Properties (SMP) 197.60p -0.65%BC