The FTSE 100 consolidated gains on Friday with a marginal step back as strong UK retail sales failed to support the index despite a good showing from commodities companies.
The top of the leaderboard was dominated by miners and other China-focused stocks. Prudential was the top gainer closely followed by Anglo American, Glencore, and Antofagasta.
“It’s been a rocky ride for investors exposed to China but patience is being rewarded,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
“Having this year gone from being widely unloved to delivering big gains over a short period thanks to the promise of major economic stimulus measures, China’s stock market has moved up and down faster than a newly oiled seesaw in recent days. One minute everyone is excited about Beijing’s ‘do whatever it takes’ mentality to improve the economy, the next minute shares are down amid scepticism about when we’ll see the benefits emerge.
“The needle has now moved back to bullish territory despite the latest figures showing economic growth has slowed again. What’s boosted shares is China’s central bank talking about a plan to encourage non-bank financial institutions to invest in the stock market.”
However, strength in the miners and optimism around China was not enough to lift London’s leading index with UK-focused shares slipped and took the index with it.
Housebuilders were weaker as where supermarkets after a jump in UK retail sales was not enjoyed by the grocers.
“Volumes grew by 0.3% in September, compared to expectations of a 0.3% decline. But the good news was far from evenly spread. Mobile phones and computers performed best, perhaps reflecting the emergence of AI-enabled hardware from multiple manufacturers,” said Derren Nathan, head of equity research, Hargreaves Lansdown.
“Supermarket sales volumes were less encouraging, falling 2.4%, impacted by the miserable weather and a pull-back in demand for premium products.”
British American Tobacco was the top faller after announcing an update to litigation in Canada.