UK shares bounced for the fourth session on Friday as mining and luxury goods stocks led a rally amid growing optimism about a Brexit deal and hopes Washington and Beijing may end a trade row threatening global growth.
Without a major tech exposure, the British market shrugged off Apple's
The blue chip was set for its best weekly performance in nearly two years in a technical correction after the dramatic sell-off last month. October was the FTSE's worst month in more than three years.
Most macro focus remained on hopes of a Brexit deal and signals from the Bank of England that if the exit from the European Union is smooth, more interest rate hikes could be on the way.
"I think we're seeing a relief rebound. The sell-off was overdone. (But) I'm not convinced we've seen the lows," said Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK.
The FTSE mining sector hit its highest since Sept. 25, marking a full recovery from October's sell-off amid worries that the U.S.-China trade dispute will hurt demand from China, the world's largest consumer of raw materials.
Copper prices jumped on Friday after a Bloomberg report that U.S. President Donald Trump wants to reach an agreement with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping at the G20 summit in Argentina later this month. [MET/L]
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Hopes of a trade deal also buoyed Burberry
JPMorgan Chinese Investment Trust
Boardroom news drew focus elsewhere on the FTSE 100. Sage Group
"It removes some of the uncertainty" following the resignation of predecessor Stephen Kelly in August, said Hewson.
On the mid-cap FTSE 250 <.FTMC> which was up 1.03 percent, Energean Oil