FTSE 100 climbs as surging commodity prices boost industrials

Advertising agency firm Mission Group said it is traded in line with lowered expectations outlined late last year, as it steams ahead with its turnaround plan
Advertising agency firm Mission Group said it is traded in line with lowered expectations outlined late last year, as it steams ahead with its turnaround plan

London’s FTSE 100 climbed this afternoon after a rally in commodity prices boosted industrial stocks.

The capital’s premier index gained 0.43 per cent to reach 7,129 in afternoon trading.

The rise was driven by surging oil and raw material prices providing a boost for oil majors, miners and steel producers.

Oil prices soared to a near seven-year high yesterday.

The gains come as traders are preparing to comb through minutes from the latest meeting between the Fed’s Federal Open Market Committee to look for clues on how it intends to fight inflation.

Read more: Bailey attempts to quash inflation fears

The mid-cap FTSE 250 also notched gains during the afternoon session, adding 0.12 per cent, while AIM shares inched down 0.01 per cent.

Winner and losers

The day’s best performer so far was miner Anglo American, climbing 3.05 per cent.

Fellow miner BHP came second, adding 2.46 per cent, while commodity trader Glencore came third, up 2.32 per cent.

Bookmaker Entain built on this morning’s losses to stay as the day’s worst performer, losing 3.99 per cent.

British Airways parent company IAG was the second worst performer in the afternoon session, seeing 3.17 per cent clipped off its share price.

Publisher Informa ranked third, down 2.8 per cent.

Read more: Oil prices reach seven-year high after Opec+ abandon supply talks

Across the globe

London’s strong performance was extended across the pond, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq hitting a record high during the open.

However, the US’s blue chip indexes both posted losses during the morning session.

The S&P 500 was down 0.07 per cent, while the Dow Jones lost 0.16 per cent.

Asian shares also slid on Wednesday. Japan’s Nikkei and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped 0.96 per cent and 0.4 per cent respectively.

European shares fared better, with the Stoxx 600 adding 0.45 per cent.