Commodity, banking stocks push FTSE 100 higher

A man wearing a protective face mask walks past the London Stock Exchange Group building in the City of London financial district, whilst British stocks tumble as investors fear that the coronavirus outbreak could stall the global economy, in London, Britain, March 9, 2020. REUTERS/Toby Melville

Aug 8 (Reuters) – Britain’s blue-chip index rose on Monday, boosted by economically sensitive commodity and banking stocks after upbeat U.S. and Chinese economic data eased worries about a recession.

The FTSE 100 (.FTSE) gained 0.6% and was hovering near its two-month high by 0711 GMT, while the domestically focussed midcap index (.FTMC) added 0.3%.

Oil majors Shell (SHEL.L) and BP (BP.L) rose more than 1%, as crude prices bounced following strong U.S. jobs data and Chinese exports numbers that picked up unexpectedly in July.

Global miners Glencore (GLEN.L) and Anglo American were also up 1%, tracking stronger metal and iron ore prices, while rate-sensitive banks also climbed.

Among other stocks, PageGroup Plc (PAGE.L) slipped 0.3% even as the global recruiter reported a 79.3% jump in half-year operating profit. read more

Joules Group (JOUL.L) soared 24.2% after the fashion group said it was in talks over a potential equity investment of about 15 million pounds ($18.11 million) from retailer Next Plc (NXT.L). read more

Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.