Shares in Africa-focused gold miner Randgold Resources climb 3.7 percent, topping the FTSE 100 (FTSE: ^FTSE - news) leaderboard, helped by a recovery in the gold price and after the company's biggest shareholder, BlackRock (NYSE: BLK - news) , raises its stake.
Trading volumes in the stock come in above the average for the rest of the FTSE, with volumes on Randgold coming in at 95 percent of their average 90-day amount, while those on the FTSE 100 are at 44 percent of their average 90-day volume.
Nomura analyst Tyler Broda says he believed the gold price, which was 1.5 percent higher on Monday after a plunge last week, was the main driver buoying Randgold's shares, while noting that Blackrock's decision to raise its stake was a further boost for the stock.
"Obviously having the largest shareholder increasing their stake is always a positive as well," Broda adds.
BlackRock announced on Monday that it had raised its stake in Randgold to 14.08 percent last week, from its earlier level of 13.99 percent according to Reuters data.
Two traders also attributed the rise in Randgold's share price to the fund manager's buying activity.
To see BlackRock's statement click on
To read an interview with Randgold's chief executive click on
Reuters messaging rm://sarah.young.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net
