By Emily Horton
London markets rose on Friday, the last full trading day before the U.K. parliament reopens for a fresh round of battles over Brexit.
Mining stocks and energy were performing well, but U.K. listed supermarkets have struggled.
What did markets do?
The FTSE 100 /zigman2/quotes/210598409/delayed UK:UKX +1.62% jumped by 1% to 6,757.52, having finished down 0.6% on Thursday. The pound /zigman2/quotes/210561263/realtime/sampled GBPUSD -0.3734% rose to $1.2677 from $1.2634, late on Thursday in New York.
What is driving the markets?
The likelihood of a global economic slowdown has started to sink into the markets after Apple /zigman2/quotes/202934861/composite AAPL +5.39% announced a surprise sales projection downgrade late on Wednesday. Tim Cook Apple’s /zigman2/quotes/202934861/composite AAPL +5.39% CEO attributed a sharp fall in iPhone revenue to the reduction in Chinese consumer spending. Trade negotiations between China and the U.S. are set to resume on Monday, Bloomberg News reported .
In the U.S., House Democrats passed a spending package in an attempt to reopen the federal government on Thursday night — but without funding for President Donald Trump’s controversial U.S./Mexico border wall.
The U.K. government will return from its holiday break on Monday, Jan. 7, with Brexit discussions poised to start again and reignite investor concerns the country’s exit from Europe.
British officials have called for the Royal Navy to help patrol the English Channel on Thursday, after a rise in the number of people attempting to enter the country illegally by boat, The Wall Street Journal reported .
What stocks are active?
Energy provider John Wood Group jumped by more than 4%, topping the FTSE 100’s gainers.
Mining stocks also performed well. Antofagasta PLC /zigman2/quotes/200173667/delayed UK:ANTO +2.81% rose by just over 4%, while Glencore PLC /zigman2/quotes/201400686/delayed UK:GLEN +1.94% and Anglo America /zigman2/quotes/201381512/delayed UK:AAL +4.53% both added 3%.
Supermarkets J Sainsbury PLC /zigman2/quotes/206038250/delayed UK:SBRY -0.88% and Wm. Morrison Supermarkets PLC /zigman2/quotes/205533138/delayed UK:MRW -0.50% both fell by just under 1%. British media company ITV PLC /zigman2/quotes/205378065/delayed UK:ITV +4.42% also dropped by 1%.
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