London’s blue-chip shares were up today after an economy-boosting interest rate cut by the European Central Bank (ECB).
The FTSE 100 Index rose by 9.4 points to 6,460.7 points after the ECB slashed its main refinancing rate for the first time since July 2012, by 0.25%, in an effort to kick-start a eurozone recovery.
It was Glencore that led the way in the top flight, after its takeover of Xstrata heralded the creation of a new natural resources giant in the biggest mining deal in history.
Shares in the vast mining and commodities group – called Glencore Xstrata – will begin trading on the London Stock Exchange tomorrow, valuing it in the region of £42billion. Glencore was up 5%, or 16.8p, to 331.2p.
Imperial Tobacco was a big FTSE 100 climber on reports that ministers had scrapped plans to force all cigarettes to be sold in plain packets. Shares rose 64p to £23.70 as the speculation helped Imperial recover from confirmation of a 6.5% profits decline earlier this week.
Royal Dutch Shell was also among the top-flight gainers after posting a better-than-expected rise in first-quarter profits, helping shares improve by 17.5p to reach 2,276.5p.
The biggest FTSE 100 risers included BG Group, up 46.5p at £11.36 and Polymetal International up 24p at £7.04.
Among the biggest FTSE 100 fallers were Shire, down £1.35 at £18.85, Melrose Industries, down 5.8p at 244.2p, BT down 6.6p at 279.1p and IMI down 26p at £12.20.
Stuart Lamont, of investment manager and financial planning specialist Brewin Dolphin in Aberdeen, noted Standard Life rose 2.1% to 386.5p and Premier Oil was 0.8% higher at 376.8p.
Among the laggards, Aggreko dropped 1.6% to £17.50, Wood Group shed 1.5% to 766.5p while Faroe Petroleum gave up 1.3% to finish at 113.8p.