Britain’s FTSE inches higher, Glencore takes a tumble

The UK’s top share index climbed on Tuesday following a shaky start to the month, although mining giant Glencore fell after one of its subsidiaries received a US subpoena.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 index was up 0.3% at 7 571.59 points by 08:55 GMT, making back some of Monday’s 1.2% loss when concerns over global trade hit risky assets.

The mood was upbeat across the wider European equity trading landscape after German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives settled a row over migration that threatened to topple her fragile governing coalition late on Monday evening.

“Granted some (investors) remain nervous on the outlook for Brexit and the overall impact of US policy but we see this as an opportunity to gain exposure as the recent drop was not a true reflection of equity asset prices,” Atif Latif, director of trading at Guardian Stockbrokers, said.

On the FTSE, consumer staples, health stocks and financials added the most points to the index.

Shares in IAG were among the top gainers, up 2.3% on the back of a supportive research note from Credit Suisse in which analysts raised their price target for the British Airways-owner, saying that they expect efficiency gains to drive up margins.

Miners, however, were a weak spot as Glencore dropped 12.2% to a one-year low. The miner said that a subsidiary had received a US Department of Justice subpoena on compliance with money-laundering laws.

“Shock news like this is clearly negative for the company, but the move lower is no doubt exacerbated by the timing of the news release, which was just after UK equities opened,” Jordan Hiscott, chief trader at ayondo markets, said.

The broader FTSE 350 mining index fell 3.2%. The sector has come under pressure from uncertainty over the United States’ trade dispute with China, which has kept a lid on underlying copper prices.

The FTSE 100 has dipped back into negative territory for the year, down 1.5% year to date, though it has managed to slightly outperform a 2.1% decline for the Euro stoxx index.

British mid caps rose 0.4%, helped by gains in industrials and consumer stocks.