UK’s FTSE 100 rose on Friday, with shares in industrial metal miners taking an early lead on higher metal prices and upbeat China data, starting December on an upbeat note after logging sharp gains in the previous month.
By 0811 GMT, the blue-chip FTSE 100 rose 0.8%, while the more domestically-focussed FTSE 250 midcap index added 0.3%.
Both the indexes posted monthly gains in November on hopes that major central banks were nearing an end of their interest rate hike trajectory.
A private survey showed China’s factory activity unexpectedly expanded in November, pushing China-exposed miners 2.4% higher.
Looking ahead, a reading of November S&P Global/CIPS manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) due 0930 GMT would be on investors’ watch list.
London stocks fall as investors await more data; Rolls-Royce shines
Comments from Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell due later in the day would also be on the radar.
AstraZeneca said it would discontinue two late-stage trials looking at the potential benefits of its drug Lokelma in the management of hyperkalaemia across the cardiorenal spectrum. Shares of the drugmaker were up 1.5%.
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