FTSE 100 notches best day in 8 months as energy and mining shares gain

By Emily Horton

AFP/Getty Images

London’s main bourse registered its best daily gain in about eight months on Friday, with major oil companies and mining stocks driving gains. /zigman2/quotes/205228367/delayed UK:CNA +0.54%

What did markets do?

The U.K.’s FTSE 100 /zigman2/quotes/210598409/delayed UK:UKX -0.08%  rose in line with other European markets, with most well over 1%. The index advanced 2.2% to 6,733.97, after finishing down 1.5% on Thursday. In a shortened, but volatile, week of trade. For the week, the FTSE 100 climbed by 0.2%.

The pound /zigman2/quotes/210561263/realtime/sampled GBPUSD +0.0228% climbed to $1.2691 from $1.2643 late Thursday in New York.

What is driving the markets?

Despite a wild week of trading in the U.S., equities there managed to rebound Thursday, with gains set to continue into Friday’s session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average /zigman2/quotes/210598065/realtime DJIA -0.38% erased a sharp loss on Thursday that knocked 611 points, or 2.7%, off the blue-chip gauge at one point.

But investors remain wary after Wall Street’s recent oscillations in stocks, with Asian markets managing only cautious gains Friday.

An earlier gain Friday in oil prices also helped push heavily weighed energy companies higher.

What stocks are active?

Engineer Melrose Industries PLC /zigman2/quotes/210306391/delayed UK:MRO -1.73% jumped 4.1%, energy company Centrica PLC /zigman2/quotes/205228367/delayed UK:CNA +0.54%  gained 3.4% and oil-services group John Wood finished the session with a 4.3% gain. BP PLC /zigman2/quotes/207305210/composite BP +0.03%   advanced 3.5%.

Mining stocks also rose, with Anglo American PLC /zigman2/quotes/201381512/delayed UK:AAL +0.46%  up 2.3% and shares of Rio Tinto /zigman2/quotes/208934945/delayed UK:RIO +0.95%   /zigman2/quotes/202627887/composite RIO +0.98%  climbing 1.4%.

/zigman2/quotes/205228367/delayed

Add to watchlist UK:CNA

Centrica PLC

UK : U.K.: London

81.20 p

+0.44 +0.54%

Volume: 14.01M

Dec. 9, 2019 4:35p

P/E Ratio

N/A

Dividend Yield

6.16%

Market Cap

£4.70 billion

Rev. per Employee

N/A

/zigman2/quotes/210598409/delayed

Add to watchlist UK:UKX

FTSE 100 Index

UK : FTSE UK

7,233.90

-5.76 -0.08%

Volume: 589,561

Dec. 9, 2019 4:59p

/zigman2/quotes/210561263/realtime/sampled

Add to watchlist GBPUSD

British Pound

US : Tullett Prebon

1.3146

+0.0003 +0.0228%

Volume: 0.0000

Dec. 9, 2019 6:58p

/zigman2/quotes/210598065/realtime

Add to watchlist DJIA

Dow Jones Industrial Average

US : Dow Jones Global

27,909.60

-105.46 -0.38%

Volume: 219.07M

Dec. 9, 2019 5:16p

/zigman2/quotes/210306391/delayed

Add to watchlist UK:MRO

Melrose Industries PLC

UK : U.K.: London

227.80 p

-4.00 -1.73%

Volume: 10.43M

Dec. 9, 2019 4:35p

P/E Ratio

N/A

Dividend Yield

2.09%

Market Cap

£11.26 billion

Rev. per Employee

N/A

/zigman2/quotes/205228367/delayed

Add to watchlist UK:CNA

Centrica PLC

UK : U.K.: London

81.20 p

+0.44 +0.54%

Volume: 14.01M

Dec. 9, 2019 4:35p

P/E Ratio

N/A

Dividend Yield

6.16%

Market Cap

£4.70 billion

Rev. per Employee

N/A

/zigman2/quotes/207305210/composite

Add to watchlist BP

BP PLC ADR

US : U.S.: NYSE

$ 37.10

+0.01 +0.03%

Volume: 4.38M

Dec. 9, 2019 6:30p

P/E Ratio

26.19

Dividend Yield

6.58%

Market Cap

$124.49 billion

Rev. per Employee

$4.03M

/zigman2/quotes/201381512/delayed

Add to watchlist UK:AAL

Anglo American PLC

UK : U.K.: London

2,077.50 p

+9.50 +0.46%

Volume: 2.46M

Dec. 9, 2019 4:35p

P/E Ratio

8.40

Dividend Yield

4.35%

Market Cap

£25.53 billion

Rev. per Employee

N/A

/zigman2/quotes/208934945/delayed

Add to watchlist UK:RIO

Rio Tinto PLC

UK : U.K.: London

4,256.50 p

+40.00 +0.95%

Volume: 1.60M

Dec. 9, 2019 4:35p

P/E Ratio

6.99

Dividend Yield

7.26%

Market Cap

£68.46 billion

Rev. per Employee

N/A

/zigman2/quotes/202627887/composite

Add to watchlist RIO

Rio Tinto PLC ADR

US : U.S.: NYSE

$ 55.91

+0.54 +0.98%

Volume: 1.42M

Dec. 9, 2019 6:30p

P/E Ratio

7.10

Dividend Yield

5.92%

Market Cap

$69.75 billion

Rev. per Employee

$852,406