London open: FTSE gains as investors eye Syria developments, Chinese inflation

(Sharecast News) - London stocks rose in early trade on Monday as investors mulled political developments in the Middle East and the latest inflation data out of China. At 0910 GMT, the FTSE 100 was up 0.3% at 8,330.69.

Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "London's blue-chip index has started the week on the front foot, shaking off signs of downbeat demand in China, as energy giants gain ground amid rising oil prices.

"The benchmark, Brent Crude, has crept higher towards $72 a barrel, as a fresh wave of uncertainty engulfs the Middle East, given the rapid fall of the Assad regime in Syria. Weak demand from China and the postponement of the plan by OPEC+ nations to postpone production increases is keeping a lid on prices to some extent.

"However, the speed at which rebel forces took over in Syria and the unpredictability of what will come next has raised fresh supply concerns in a region already wracked by conflict."

Investors were also digesting the latest data released by the Bureau of National Statistics in China, which showed that consumer price inflation fell to a five-month low in November, slowing to 0.2% year-on-year from 0.3% the month before and falling short of expectations of 0.5%.

Core inflation - which excludes food and fuel prices - rose 0.3% in November, down from 0.2% in October.

Streeter said the data was "uninspiring, given it showed consumer price growth falling back, indicating demand is still weak in the world's second-largest economy".

"It's an indication that the big stimulus measures aren't cutting through and wariness remains about spending, which is set to continue to hold the economy back," she added.

In equity markets, heavily-weighted miners were among the best performers, with Glencore, Antofagasta, Anglo American and Rio Tinto all higher. The sector was lifted after China's leaders promised to implement "more proactive" fiscal policy next year to boost domestic consumption.

Advertising giant WPP rallied following reports that Omnicom and Interpublic are in $30bn merger talks.

Spirax and Weir were both boosted by upgrades to 'overweight' by Morgan Stanley, while AJ Bell was higher after an upgrade to 'buy' at Shore Capital.

Domino's Pizza fell as it said new measures announced in October's Budget would cost it around £3m a year and announced a new "profitability and growth framework" with its franchise partners, that will see it invest an additional £3-4m per annum from next year.

Baltic Classifieds fell after a downgrade to 'hold' at Deutsche Bank.

Mike Ashley's Frasers Group was in the red after a downgrade to 'equalweight' by Barclays and after Boohoo said that international shareholder advisory group ISS has recommended that its shareholders vote against resolutions seeking board representation from the company.

Boohoo is due to hold a general meeting on 20 December at which shareholders will be asked whether they agree to admit Ashley and restructuring expert Mike Lennon to the board.

But Boohoo said that ISS has recommended that its shareholders vote against these resolutions.

"ISS states that Frasers has offered a superficial view of performance and no specific plans for change and the two Frasers candidates, Mike Ashley and Mike Lennon, have real conflicts of interest, concluding that board change at Boohoo Group is not warranted," it said.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 8,330.69 0.27% FTSE 250 (MCX) 21,087.26 0.13% techMARK (TASX) 4,715.84 0.19%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,785.50p 3.18% Rio Tinto (RIO) 5,064.00p 2.84% Glencore (GLEN) 388.05p 2.66% WPP (WPP) 890.40p 2.63% Anglo American (AAL) 2,525.50p 2.48% Prudential (PRU) 678.00p 2.39% Spirax Group (SPX) 7,425.00p 2.06% Entain (ENT) 829.20p 1.97% Weir Group (WEIR) 2,300.00p 1.77% Standard Chartered (STAN) 988.60p 1.54%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Whitbread (WTB) 2,929.00p -1.97% BAE Systems (BA.) 1,211.50p -1.46% Frasers Group (FRAS) 630.50p -1.18% Vodafone Group (VOD) 71.28p -1.16% Haleon (HLN) 370.80p -1.12% Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 580.60p -0.99% Relx plc (REL) 3,712.00p -0.91% Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 4,082.00p -0.87% Unilever (ULVR) 4,587.00p -0.84% Next (NXT) 9,922.00p -0.78%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Fidelity China Special Situations (FCSS) 224.00p 3.94% IP Group (IPO) 49.95p 3.63% PureTech Health (PRTC) 171.40p 3.25% Burberry Group (BRBY) 957.40p 2.97% Energean (ENOG) 966.00p 2.28% Dr. Martens (DOCS) 73.05p 2.17% NCC Group (NCC) 165.60p 2.10% International Workplace Group (IWG) 172.20p 1.95% PZ Cussons (PZC) 87.10p 1.75% Renishaw (RSW) 3,235.00p 1.73%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Baltic Classifieds Group (BCG) 339.50p -2.58% Domino's Pizza Group (DOM) 345.40p -1.87% Wood Group (John) (WG.) 63.30p -1.71% Bluefield Solar Income Fund Limited (BSIF) 95.00p -1.66% Workspace Group (WKP) 536.00p -1.47% Impax Environmental Markets (IEM) 376.50p -1.44% Target Healthcare Reit Ltd (THRL) 85.50p -1.38% SDCL Energy Efficiency Income Trust (SEIT) 57.20p -1.38% Shaftesbury Capital (SHC) 135.90p -1.38% Vietnam Enterprise Investments (DI) (VEIL) 583.00p -1.35%