FTSE 100 Live: Mid-caps outpace blue chips as housebuilders and industrials rise

FTSE 100 adds 0.1% to around 10,865
FTSE 250 climbs 0.4% to approximately 24,814
Housebuilders, industrials and financials lead
Gold and copper ease as precious-metal miners fall
Several AIM and small-cap shares jump more than 12%

10.10 am: FTSE 250 pulls ahead as sector leadership broadens

The FTSE 100 was up around 10 points at 10,865, having touched 10,886, while the FTSE 250 strengthened 0.4% to approximately 24,814.

The FTSE SmallCap gained about 0.2%, while the AIM All-Share was broadly flat.

Industrials remained the strongest blue-chip sector. Melrose led the FTSE 100 with an 8.7% gain, while Rolls-Royce, Halma, Weir Group and IMI also advanced.

Housebuilders strengthened across both indices. Persimmon, Taylor Wimpey, Barratt Redrow and Berkeley Group rose, while FTSE 250 constituent Vistry jumped 16.7% to 313.4p after reaching 320.6p.

Retail and financial shares also provided support. Next gained almost 2%, while Legal & General, Aviva, Lloyds, Barclays and Standard Chartered traded higher.

Mining shares remained mixed as gold fell 0.5% to around US$4,630 an ounce and copper eased 0.2% to US$6.59 per pound. Anglo American gained 0.7%, but Endeavour Mining, Fresnillo, Antofagasta and Hochschild Mining declined.

Energy stocks were slightly weaker as Brent crude dropped 1.4% to approximately US$90.90. BP and Shell both edged lower.

Away from the leading indices, small caps Volex, Galileo Resources, Futura Medical, Mothercare and Tungsten West made serious gains during the session.

Galileo’s 22% rise followed the identification of a potentially substantial copper porphyry system at its Ferber project in Nevada. Tungsten West gained around 16% after securing up to £71 million of government backing for the Hemerdon mine. Mothercare and Futura Medical had no fresh regulatory announcement supporting their moves.

Petra Diamonds was around 13% higher, although the rise occurred on very thin trading volume.

Bitcoin traded near US$79,700, up 3.3%, after reaching US$81,104.

9.10 am: Mining rally fades as London edges higher

The FTSE 100 gained 13 points to 10,867 after reaching 10,883, while the FTSE 250, FTSE SmallCap and AIM All-Share also edged higher.

Gold traded around US$4,630 an ounce after approaching US$4,700 earlier. Bullion is up about 13.5% during August and remains on course for its strongest monthly gain since 1999.

However, yesterday’s mining rally has not continued. Endeavour Mining fell 1.6%, Fresnillo lost around 1% and Antofagasta slipped 0.4%. Anglo American gained 0.4%, while Glencore and Rio Tinto were broadly unchanged.

Instead, company announcements produced the largest moves. Volex jumped almost 20% to around 640p after reporting strong organic growth and forecasting annual profit ahead of expectations.

FTSE 250 housebuilder Vistry climbed about 14% following a £350 million funding award to deliver more than 3,000 affordable homes.

On AIM, Tungsten West gained nearly 14% after securing up to £71 million of National Wealth Fund backing for the Hemerdon tungsten and tin mine.

Melrose remained the leading FTSE 100 riser, advancing more than 8%, while Next and Rolls-Royce also gained.

Energy stocks weakened as Brent crude slipped below US$92 a barrel, with BP down around 1%.

8.15 am: London indices advance across the board

London opened broadly higher, with gains extending beyond the largest companies.

The FTSE 100 added 0.2% to 10,876, while the FTSE 250 rose 0.1% to 24,746. The FTSE 350 and FTSE All-Share gained 0.2% to 5,927 and 5,862 respectively.

Smaller companies also participated. The FTSE SmallCap increased 0.1% to 8,204, while the AIM All-Share edged 0.1% higher to 814.75.

The sector picture was mixed. IAG gained 0.7% as oil prices eased, while Shell fell 0.4%. Antofagasta and Rio Tinto slipped 0.5% and 0.2%, while Anglo American edged higher.

Melrose Industries led the FTSE 100 risers, jumping around 9%. Its GKN Aerospace subsidiary plans to resume full manufacturing at its Garden Grove facility on 28 September, while US authorities have closed a criminal investigation without bringing charges.

The company also announced a claims programme worth up to US$100 million for residents and businesses affected by May’s evacuation.

Other leading risers included Weir Group, up 1.5%, Rolls-Royce and Next, both around 1.3% higher, and Persimmon, up 1.3%.

JD Sports was the leading faller, losing around 1.2%. Smith & Nephew and GSK dropped about 0.9%, while British American Tobacco, 3i Group and Endeavour Mining also declined.

7.15 am: FTSE futures point to positive London opening

September FTSE 100 futures gained 15 points, or 0.14%, to 10,898.5, pointing to a modestly higher start for London.

The contract traded between 10,878.5 and 10,899.5, compared with Monday’s settlement of 10,883.5. The cash FTSE 100 closed Monday 37.76 points higher at 10,854.32.

Bitcoin provided the strongest overnight move, climbing 4.7% to around US$80,700 after reaching US$81,104 – its highest level since May. It has gained approximately 25% over the past week.

Gold eased 0.3% to around $4,640 an ounce but remained on course for its strongest monthly advance since September 1999, having gained approximately 14% during August. Copper slipped 0.2% to $6.59 per pound.

Australia outperformed, with the ASX 200 rising 0.7% to 9,163. WiseTech Global gained 4.1% to A$45.28 and BHP added 0.6% to A$67.51. Woodside Energy fell 0.9% to A$33.17.

Elsewhere, Japan’s Nikkei 225 advanced 0.4% to around 65,800, South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.5% to approximately 6,730 and the Shanghai Composite added 0.2% to 3,890. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped 0.2% to around 25,468.

Wall Street finished mixed. The S&P 500 fell 0.28% and the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.76%, while the Dow Jones gained 0.26%. Nvidia dropped 2.91% ahead of its quarterly results on Wednesday.

Brent crude held near US$92.10 a barrel, down 0.1%, following the latest US sanctions against Iran.