Headline shares put in a stellar performance, closing at session highs, with hedge fund manager Man Group (LON:EMG) heading the leaderboard and insurers strong as China re-assured on bond holdings. At the close of business, the FTSE100 was up 157.09 points at 5,195.17 with the FTSE250 ahead 254.58 points at 9,647.25 and the FTSE Smallcaps 27.99 points better at 2,750.07. US stocks made strong gains in late morning trade, investors encouraged after China denied it planned to dump its holdings in European bonds. Approaching the close in London, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 218 points at 10,193, the S&P500 rose 27 points at 1,095 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 61 points at 2,257.
LONDON MARKETS
Markets in London shrugged aside the general doom and gloom to trade sharply higher, with hedge fund manager Man Group (LON:EMG) leading the charge after reporting a less-than-expected fall in profit.
Man Group (LON:EMG) reported profit before tax of $541m in the year to end-March, down from $743m the prior year. The shares jumped 23p at 238.3p in response. Fellow fund manager Schroders (LON:SDR) added 60p at 1,344p on the read across. Insurers were buoyant as China denied rumours it was ditching European bonds, with Legal & General Group (LON:LGEN) the best of them, ahead 5.45p at 79.15p and Aviva (LON:AV.) up 21.4p at 321.3p Talk that Prudential (LON:PRU) could yet turn its back on the proposed acquisition of AIA as shareholder opposition intensifies, pushed the shares up 35p at 547.5p.
Among the banks, Barclays (LON:BARC) led the way, gaining 11.9p at 308.9p, on reports it is to progress with its plans to sell-off non-core assets. Lloyds added 2.99p at 56.9p and Royal Bank Of Scotland Group Plc (LON:RBS) rose 1.67p at 46.77p, while the encouraging noises from China pushed HSBC 16.5p higher at 634.3p and inspired Standard Chartered (LON:STAN) to gain 71p at 1,682p.
Metals prices firmed, driven by Asia growth hopes, giving the mining fraternity a boost. Vedanta Resources (LON:VED) was best of the bunch, up 138p at 2,311p, while Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) gained 124p at 3,188.5p and BHP Billiton (LON:BLT) improved 81p at 1,938.5p. Copper miner Antofagasta (LON:ANTO) surged 32p at 895.5p on reporting…
