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FTSE 100 gains as solid China data lifts energy, mining stocks

Reuters - UK Focus
·1-min read

(For a live blog on European stocks, type LIVE/ in an Eikon news window)

* FTSE 100 up 1.2%, FTSE 250 adds 1.0%

May 15 (Reuters) - London's FTSE 100 rose on Friday after two straight days of losses as a jump in China's factory output for the first time in 2020 powered miners and oil and gas producers, while investors remained cautious about a looming coronavirus-fuelled recession.

The commodity-heavy FTSE 100 was up 1.2%, with BP Plc and Royal Dutch Shell Plc providing the biggest boost. Miners including Rio Tinto, Glencore and BHP Group jumped between 2.0% and 3.4%.

The mid-cap FTSE 250 rose 1% with data showing China's industrial production climbed a faster-than-expected 3.9% in April as the country returned to work after months of coronavirus-induced lockdowns.

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Still, both benchmark indices are on track for their first weekly slump in three weeks as millions of job losses globally and growing U.S.-China tensions crush consumer demand. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he had no interest in speaking to his Chinese counterpart right now.

Battered cruise operator Carnival Corp surged 7% to the top of the FTSE 100 after saying it was cutting 820 positions out of a workforce of roughly 3,000 employees in Florida as the future of the industry remains uncertain amid no-sail orders due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Reporting by Sagarika Jaisinghani in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernard Orr)