The FTSE 100 opened firmly higher on Friday, recovering around 60% of Thursday’s decline as mining and financial stocks drove a broad blue-chip advance across London markets.
London’s leading index gained 50.99 points, or 0.47%, to reach 10,843.53 after falling 0.8% during the previous session, which was dragged lower by weakness among banks, energy companies and miners.
Endeavour Mining headed the FTSE 100 risers, climbing 3.06%, or 145p, to 4,884p, as precious metals stocks benefited from renewed investor appetite for commodities exposure.
Fresnillo followed closely behind with a 2.24% gain to 3,241p, reinforcing the strength of the mining sector’s contribution to the morning recovery.
Melrose Industries advanced 1.53% to 516.8p, extending its recent recovery after establishing a compensation scheme of up to US$100 million for people and businesses affected by the temporary evacuation surrounding its GKN Aerospace facility in California.
Private-equity investor 3i Group gained 1.41%, while Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, Airtel Africa and Investec each rose between 1.2% and 1.3%, and HSBC added 1.13% to 1,521p.
The wider market was broadly positive, with the FTSE 250 gaining 0.11% to 24,926.99 and both the FTSE 350 and FTSE All-Share advancing 0.43%, though the AIM All-Share moved against the trend, falling 0.24% to 811.19.
Among mid-cap movers, Goodwin surged 11.81%, or 2,150p, to 20,350p, while recruiter Hays climbed 4.99%, or 3.65p, to 76.75p, adding to the positive picture outside the blue-chip index.
On the downside, BAE Systems dropped 1.34%, or 28p, to 2,064p, and housebuilder Barratt Redrow declined 1.13%, or 3.6p, to 315.9p, making them among the session’s most notable blue-chip fallers.
London’s rebound was supported by a technology-driven advance on Wall Street overnight, where Nvidia jumped 8.7% to US$227.98 after its quarterly results and stronger-than-expected outlook reinforced confidence in artificial intelligence spending.
That single move added approximately US$440 billion to Nvidia’s market value, underlining the scale of investor enthusiasm for artificial intelligence infrastructure plays.
Salesforce surged 22.6%, helping power the Nasdaq Composite 1.6% higher, while the S&P 500 gained 0.7% and the Dow Jones advanced 0.2%.
The positive technology backdrop could extend further support for London-listed companies with artificial intelligence and software exposure, following Computacenter’s 7.9% jump to 5,625p on Thursday, with Sage, London Stock Exchange Group, RELX and Experian also recording strong gains that session.
Domestic sentiment received an additional boost from the Lloyds Business Barometer, which showed UK business confidence rising by 4 points to 53% in August, its highest reading since March.
Asian trading was largely positive, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 rising 0.8%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gaining 0.3% and Taiwan’s Taiex advancing 1%, while South Korea’s Kospi fell 1% and the Shanghai Composite was broadly unchanged.
Australia’s ASX 200 advanced 0.5%, or 45.6 points, to 9,083.80, led by technology and banking shares recovering from Thursday’s 1% decline, with Xero and WiseTech among the strongest performers.
Commodity markets were mixed, with Brent crude easing 0.3% to approximately US$88.24 a barrel, gold futures falling 0.5% to around US$4,639 an ounce, and copper edging 0.2% higher to US$6.60 per pound.
Bitcoin traded near US$79,833, up approximately 1.5% after moving as high as US$81,280 earlier in the session.
Investor attention later in the day will turn to US personal consumption expenditure inflation data and Federal Reserve chair Kevin Warsh’s address at Jackson Hole, with both closely watched for signals on the interest rate outlook.
The UK corporate diary remains relatively quiet, with Beowulf Mining scheduled to publish quarterly results, and trading volumes may moderate ahead of the long UK bank holiday weekend.