London midday: Stocks in the green as miners rally; NMC Health surges
By Michele Maatouk
Date: Wednesday 12 Feb 2020
(Sharecast News) - London stocks were still in the green by midday on Wednesday, with miners pacing the advance as investors took comfort from signs that the coronavirus spread may be slowing.
The FTSE 100 was up 0.4% at 7,530.64.
Joshua Mahony, senior market strategist at IG, said traders had been "emboldened by an optimistic outlook from the top Chinese medical expert, Zhong Nanshan".
"Nanshan speculated that the epidemic could peak by the end of February, with a slowdown in cases providing reason for optimism. Interestingly, he also allayed fears over the incubation period, with scientists only finding one case of a 24-day period," he said.
"Commodity-focused firms are on the front foot today, with traders heading towards China-focused firms amid a tentative wave of optimism that the coronavirus crisis could have peaked. For traders, there will be many seeking to pick the market bottom given the expectation that this crisis will be limited in nature."
In equity markets, miners rallied, with Antofagasta, Anglo American, Glencore, Rio Tinto and BHP all higher.
NMC Health was the standout gainer, however, after shareholder Krupa Global Investments said it had told the company the name of a healthcare group from the CEE region that is interested in taking a strategic stake in NMC. KGI said it would not disclose the name to the public for now as talks are in progress.
On Tuesday, NMC shares fell after US private equity firm KKR said it had not made a bid for the UAE private healthcare provider.
Virgin Money was boosted by an upgrade to 'buy' at Citi and Greencore was higher on the back of an upgrade to 'buy' at Berenberg.
Dunelm surged as the homeware retailer reported a rise in interim profit and revenue and said full-year pre-tax profit will be "slightly ahead" of the top of the latest range of analyst expectations.
On the downside, the previous day's big gainers, TUI and Ocado, were the biggest fallers.
Engineering firm Babcock was the worst performer on the FTSE 250 as it lowered its full-year profit guidance range due to contract award delays in its aviation division and write downs in oil and gas operations. The company said it now forecast underlying operating profit of ?540m compared with a previous range of ?540m - ?560m.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,530.64 0.42%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 21,756.77 0.51%
techMARK (TASX) 4,167.54 -0.02%
FTSE 100 - Risers
NMC Health (NMC) 854.80p 9.84%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 874.00p 3.36%
Anglo American (AAL) 2,113.00p 2.95%
Kingfisher (KGF) 218.40p 2.78%
Glencore (GLEN) 239.10p 2.46%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 4,248.50p 2.31%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 642.00p 2.03%
BHP Group (BHP) 1,705.00p 1.95%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 224.70p 1.81%
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 226.50p 1.80%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 929.00p -4.01%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 1,212.50p -3.35%
Halma (HLMA) 2,200.00p -1.96%
Associated British Foods (ABF) 2,661.00p -1.41%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 241.80p -1.27%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,835.00p -1.21%
Experian (EXPN) 2,793.00p -0.89%
Relx plc (REL) 2,043.00p -0.83%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 865.80p -0.82%
Bunzl (BNZL) 1,954.50p -0.79%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Finablr (FIN) 83.95p 10.46%
Dunelm Group (DNLM) 1,315.00p 9.49%
Sanne Group (SNN) 654.00p 9.00%
Spirent Communications (SPT) 242.00p 5.22%
Virgin Money UK (VMUK) 189.45p 4.73%
TI Fluid Systems (TIFS) 246.00p 4.46%
Kaz Minerals (KAZ) 509.60p 3.77%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 165.70p 3.63%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 150.60p 3.22%
Plus500 Ltd (DI) (PLUS) 938.80p 3.07%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Babcock International Group (BAB) 535.00p -3.85%
Contour Global (GLO) 186.60p -2.10%
Go-Ahead Group (GOG) 2,120.00p -1.85%
Beazley (BEZ) 578.50p -1.70%
Future (FUTR) 1,220.00p -1.61%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 462.50p -1.60%
TalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) 113.60p -1.56%
Ascential (ASCL) 384.80p -1.33%
PureTech Health (PRTC) 301.00p -1.31%
Capital & Counties Properties (CAPC) 244.00p -1.25%
Email this article to a friend
or share it with one of these popular networks:
You are here: news
10 Lower Thames St,
London EC3R 6EN