Friday morning market opening

Dec 11 2009 By nebusiness

THE London stock market produced gains across the board today as investors took their lead from a sharp rally in Asian stocks.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 index climbed 2.5% after a weaker yen lifted exporters and encouraging industrial output data from China spurred buying interest.

The FTSE 100 Index followed suit as the top flight built on yesterday’s rise of 40 points to add another 56.2 points to 5300.5 in the first hour of trading.

Mining stocks led the rally after coming under pressure in recent days over concerns for the speed and strength of the global recovery. Xstrata set the pace with a gain of 33p to 1065p, while Kazakhmys added 39p to 1265p.

The next important landmark for investors will be consumer confidence and retail sales figures due later in the session in the Untied States.

In a quiet session for corporate news, HMV shares were 0.2p higher at 106.8p after the retailer reported a narrowing of losses at the half year stage.

Analysts said the figures were in line with expectations, although the company highlighted continued tough trading at its bookshop chain Waterstone’s.

Services group Carillion added 8.5p to 303.8p after it reported a strong order book and said its Middle East business continued to trade well, despite exposure to the debt-troubled emirate of Duba