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FTSE 100 up 0.5%, FTSE 250 flat
March 1 (Reuters) - UK's FTSE 100 opened higher on
Wednesday, with energy stocks and miners in the lead as
commodity prices surged after data showed manufacturing activity
at top metals consumer China expanded at the fastest pace in
over a decade.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 was up 0.5% by 0815 GMT,
while the more domestically focussed FTSE 250 midcap index was muted.
Industrial metal miners surged 4.4%, with Rio
Tinto and Glencore rising 4.4% and 3.7%,
respectively.
Metal prices rose as China's manufacturing activity
expanded, smashing market expectations after production zoomed
following the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions last year. Energy majors Shell and BP also gained
ground, rising close to 1% each on higher oil prices. On the earnings front, Reckitt Benckiser edged 0.1%
after the Dettol and Lysol cleaning products maker beat
full-year like-for-like net revenue expectations.
Shares of Persimmon fell 7.2% to the bottom of the
FTSE 100 after the homebuilder warned of lower profit for 2023
and cut its annual dividend by 75%.
(Reporting by Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry
Jacob-Phillips)
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