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/File Photo Acquire Licensing Rights
Nov 30 (Reuters) – UK’s FTSE 100 rose in early trade on Thursday as higher crude oil prices lifted energy giants and higher base metals and iron ore prices lifted miners, while investors braced for more economic data due later in the day.
By 0808 GMT, the exporter-heavy FTSE 100 (.FTSE) rose 0.1%, while the FTSE 250 midcap index (.FTMC) lost 0.2%.
Industrial metal miners (.FTNMX551020) led gains early on, rising 1% as prices of most base metals and iron ore advanced, while oil and gas (.FTNMX601010) edged up 0.6% as crude prices gained ahead of expected production cuts by the OPEC+ group.
The domestically focussed midcap and the FTSE Small Cap index (.FTSC) eyed sharp monthly gains as the pound rallied against the dollar this month, while the blue-chip FTSE 100 was set for marginal gains.
The focus would remain on a personal consumption expenditures (PCE) report in the United States due later in the day.
NatWest Group (NWG.L) added 1.8% after J.P. Morgan upgraded the bank’s stock to “overweight” from “neutral”.
Dr Martens (DOCS.L) slumped 22.5% after the bootmaker forecast its annual revenue to decline and profit to be below market expectations.
Reporting by Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru; Editing by Sohini Goswami
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