Energy, mining stocks push FTSE 100 higher; Shell top gainer
By Shashank Nayar
July 7 (Reuters) - London's FTSE 100 rose on Wednesday as heavyweight mining and energy stocks tracked commodity prices higher, while Royal Dutch Shell jumped on plans to boost shareholder returns.
Shell climbed 2.5% to the top of the FTSE 100 as the company said it would boost its planned shareholder returns beginning in the second quarter after a sharp rise in oil and gas prices helped it reduce debt.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 rose 0.5%, led by gains in energy and base metal stocks, up 2.2% and 1.9% respectively.
The domestically focussed mid-cap index gained 0.4%, led by a 1.3% rise in homebuilders.
British house prices in June fell in monthly terms for the first time since January as the government prepared to scale back its tax break for home-buyers, mortgage lender Halifax said. However, they rose 8.8% in annual terms.
Homebuilder stocks have gained 1.4% so far this year on rising home prices and demand for bigger homes, but have largely underperformed the FTSE 100.
Cheap borrowing costs, higher commodity prices and re-opening optimism have helped the FTSE 100 gain 10.5% so far this year. However, the index has underperformed its European and local mid-cap peers.
"The mix of recovering employment with improved consumer sentiment, buttressed by record-low borrowing rates, a booming property market and a loose fiscal bias, has the potential to set off a virtuous cycle between household spending and corporate profits," said Konstantinos Venetis, a senior economist at TS Lombard.
Global recruitment firm PageGroup jumped 3.9% and was the top mid-cap gainer after it reported a 2% rise in second-quarter gross profit.
Peer Robert Walters climbed 9.6% after posting its first jump in net fees in a year on increased hiring.
Countryside Properties rose 0.7% after it said it would focus solely on partnerships business following a strategic review of the potential separation of its housebuilding segment.
(Reporting by Shashank Nayar in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
