LONDON (ShareCast) - Strong gains in the mining and oil sectors pushed UK stocks higher on Friday, as investors showed optimism after much better-than-expected growth figures from Germany.
London's FTSE 100 was up 0.75% at 6,879 early on, as resource shares tracked commodity prices higher.
German gross domestic product (GDP) growth picked up to 0.7% in the fourth quarter of 2014 from 0.1% the preceding three months, well ahead of the 0.3% expansion predicted.
The figures from the Europe's largest economy suggest upside risk to the Eurozone GDP data due out at 10:00 on Friday. Consensus forecasts currently are for Eurozone growth to remain at 0.2% in the fourth quarter.
Analyst Connor Campbell from Spreadex said: "The 0.2% forecast for the region as a whole may end up looking like a significant underestimation."
Concerns about the Ukraine crisis have also eased after the country agreed to a ceasefire with Russia after tense negotiations in Minsk. However, there was continued fighting overnight in the rebel-held cities of eastern Ukraine, with the ceasefire not expected to kick in until Sunday.
"Investors also appear confident that a Greek disaster can also be averted on unconfirmed reports that German and Greek officials were working on a compromise in Brussels as both sides looked to soften their positions," said analyst Michael Hewson from CMC Markets.
The speculation comes before the next Eurogroup meeting scheduled to begin on Monday.
Anglo leads miners higher
The share price of Anglo American advanced despite the news that it has decided to write-down the value of certain assets by $3.9bn on the back of weaker iron ore prices, pushing the company into the red for the 2014 financial year. Anglo swung to a pre-tax loss of $259m in 2014, compared with a profit of $1.7bn in 2013.
Other miners were also in positive territory, including BHP Billiton, Glencore and Rio Tinto, as metal prices improved. Even Fresnillo gained despite explaining how foreign exchange movements, depreciation and write-downs would adversely affect its 2014 results.
Oil stocks such as Tullow, BG and Premier Oil were also in demand was Brent crude continued its rebound. Brent was up 1.9% at $60.40 a barrel early on.
Utilities group Severn Trent declined after saying that while it is on track to hit expectations this financial year, operating costs are expected to rise due to the impact of inflation and quasi taxes.
Rolls-Royce also fell as the engine maker reported an 8% drop in underlying profits in 2014 and said it expects profits to fall further this year as customers face "increased uncertainty" from weaker oil prices.
Shire paused after a strong jump the previous session following its fourth-quarter results. The pharma group was also in focus on speculation it is preparing to make a bid for US peer Salix Pharmaceuticals, worth $9.2bn at current market prices.
Market Movers
techMARK 3,130.39 +0.45%
FTSE 100 6,879.23 +0.75%
FTSE 250 16,878.12 +0.41%
FTSE 100 - Risers
BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,547.50p +3.55%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 398.70p +3.53%
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,537.50p +3.50%
Glencore (GLEN) 286.40p +3.43%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 725.50p +2.83%
Anglo American (AAL) 1,198.00p +2.79%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,123.50p +2.76%
BG Group (BG.) 958.80p +2.61%
Barclays (BARC) 259.30p +2.35%
BP (BP.) 450.05p +1.29%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
BT Group (BT.A) 441.80p -1.82%
Carnival (CCL) 2,921.00p -1.42%
easyJet (EZJ) 1,719.00p -1.32%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 961.50p -1.18%
Severn Trent (SVT) 2,038.00p -0.92%
Associated British Foods (ABF) 2,941.00p -0.84%
Sky (SKY) 920.00p -0.81%
Centrica (CNA) 285.50p -0.70%
SSE (SSE) 1,590.00p -0.62%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 2,649.00p -0.60%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Afren (AFR) 8.00p +12.52%
Premier Oil (PMO) 165.90p +4.41%
Evraz (EVR) 194.40p +3.79%
Atkins (WS) (ATK) 1,350.00p +2.66%
Interserve (IRV) 558.50p +2.57%
Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 733.00p +2.52%
AL Noor Hospitals Group (ANH) 989.00p +2.49%
Vedanta Resources (VED) 484.60p +2.45%
Ophir Energy (OPHR) 143.70p +2.42%
COLT Group SA (COLT) 149.50p +2.40%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Supergroup (SGP) 1,038.00p -1.98%
Alent (ALNT) 343.20p -1.94%
Rank Group (RNK) 183.50p -1.87%
Spire Healthcare Group (SPI) 297.10p -1.69%
Bwin.party Digital Entertainment (BPTY) 101.00p -1.46%
Brit (BRIT) 271.00p -1.45%
IMI (IMI) 1,401.00p -1.41%
Acacia Mining (ACA) 277.20p -1.39%
Spirax-Sarco Engineering (SPX) 3,168.00p -1.19%
Elementis (ELM) 279.30p -1.13%
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