Mining stocks lead FTSE recovery

Mining stocks led FTSE gainers in opening trade on Friday as the markets were cheered by a rally in the US and Asia overnight.

Inflation concerns eased following comments from
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. He said that inflation was probably not as much of a worry as some had feared.

Miners crowded the FTSE 100 leaderboard as metal prices continued to rise. Kazakhmys led the way, up 4.7 per cent to £10.50, while Antofagasta added 4.4 per cent to £20.10.

The FTSE 100 jumped 70.1 points, 1.3 per cent to 5,689.4 in early trade while the mid-cap FTSE 250 was up 149.9 points, 1.7 per cent to 9,263.6.

Overnight in New York, the S&P 500 was up 2.1 per cent at 1,256.16, its best day since October 2003, while the Nasdaq Composite was up 2.8 per cent at 2,144.15, its strongest day since March 2004. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.8 per cent to 11,015.19.

Back in London, Centrica made gains following an upbeat trading statement and news of plans to invest £400m to develop a major 885MW gas fired power station in Langage, Devon. It will be the UK’s first major power station to start construction for five years.

Shares in the utility company, which said it continues to trade in line with expectations, rose 1.4 per cent to 276.5p.

Engineer and project manager Amec lost 1.9 per cent to 338½p after it said trading in UK construction remains poor, resulting in a weaker first half than previously anticipated.