Mining leads the way as China hits accelerator

CHINA’S Covid recovery and the robust start to Wall Street’s earnings season fuelled buying interest today as the FTSE 100 index rose for an eighth session in a row.

- Graeme Evans

Heavyweight mining stocks drove the latest improvement after stronger-than-expected figures showed China’s GDP accelerated 4.5% in the first quarter of the year.

The rebound in the world’s second-largest economy helped Anglo-American and Antofagasta shares up by 2%, while Rolls-Royce cheered 1.5p to 152.5p as traders regard China airlines as key to a sustained recovery in engine flying hours.

A run of resilient earnings from major US lenders also helped the mood in London as the FTSE 100 index improved 18.15 points to 7897.66.