UK blue-chip investors enjoyed a relatively solid session on Tuesday, with the exception of Standard Chartered shareholders, who saw their holdings lose more than a fifth of their value in the last two session.
The FTSE 100 index closed up 32 points or 0.6% at 5,841, while the FTSE 250 index added 35 points or 0.3% to at 11,461.
More calls for further stimulus measures in the US set an optimistic tone in afternoon deals. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston president Eric Rosengren said in an interview that the Fed should implement a third round of quantitative easing, in which open-ended bond purchases would continue until economic-growth conditions improved. Rosengren said the current conditions have little movement and that the country needs more pro-growth measures. He also said that despite last week's better-than-expected employment data, the US job market will remain weak throughout the rest of 2012. Rosengren's comments have created some hopes that more Fed officials favour a new round of stimulus.
Last week, ECB President Mario Draghi said the central bank could focus on purchasing short-term debt in an effort to ease the monetary union’s woes.
Meanwhile, data released today confirmed German manufacturing order fell more than expected in June, while industrial output in the UK dropped 2.5% in the same month.
In spite of these downbeat numbers, the top tier of London shares enjoyed a strong start, led higher by natural resources. Evraz (EVR) was the standout performer, jumping 10.3% on hopes a stronger steel price will help underpin the steel, mining and vanadium business’ earnings.
Other commodity-fuelled stocks were also boosted higher, with Eurasian Natural Resources (ENRC), Polymetal (POLY) and Anglo American (AAL) among the top performers, up 4.1%-5.9% apiece.
On the casualty list, there was one obvious loser. Standard Chartered (STAN) shares dropped 6% in closing deals yesterday as news broke that a US regulator has accused the firm of money laundering over a ten year period up to 2007. Shares plunged at the open on Tuesday and within 30 minutes of trade had lost more than a quarter of its market value from before the allegations were announced. The firm strongly rejects the claims but investors still fled the stock, leaving it down 16.4% by market close.
See more of the FTSE’s top risers and faller in Morningstar’s Heat Map.