At the close: FTSE 100 index closes higher as the oil price rises with banks’ and miners’ share prices including Anglo American and Glencore rising despite housebuilders and HSBC’s share price falling
The FTSE 100 index closed higher today after the price of oil rose and there was a bounce-back in mining companies and banking shares.
The UK's blue-chip index rose 1.47 per cent to 6,037 points, led higher by Glencore and Anglo American.
"Rallying commodity prices from crude oil to copper have boosted the beaten up mining sector," said Jasper Lawler, markets analyst at CMC Markets.
"Mining shares are still wallowing in a hangover from years of excessive production to meet the demands of booming industrial production and construction in China. But in the last couple of quarters, companies have started talking about closing down production, asset sales and dividend cuts to match a new reality in which China's growth is slowing as it transitions to consumption-based economy," he added.
The potential sale of the De Beers London headquarters pushed Anglo American higher, as investors welcomed the company's slimming down to match lower demand for commodities. Its share price rose 10.88 per cent to 483.75p.
Read more: Pound plunges to seven-year low against the dollar
These gains spread to other miners. BHP Billiton rose 8.48 per cent to 795p per share, while Rio Tinto jumped 8.38 per cent to 2,051p per share. Glencore closed at 132.4p per share, a rise of 11.32 per cent.
And banking shares rose as sentiment continues to improve after last week. Barclays' share price rose 2.1 per cent to 165.15p, while Lloyds was up 2.23 per cent to 63.12p per share.
Standard Chartered also rose 5.23 per cent to 436.3p per share, but Royal Bank of Scotland slipped 0.57 per cent to 245.2p per share.
However, HSBC bucked the trend after reporting disappointing full-year results. Its share price fell sharply during the day, but recovered to close just 0.94 per cent lower at 445.9p per share.
As oil prices rebounded, Shell's share price closed at 1,617p, a 3.94 per cent jump. BP was meanwhile up 3.96 per cent to 356.65p per share.
Read more: Supply glut will keep oil prices down into next year, says IEA
The pound meanwhile was subject to its largest biggest daily fall since May 2010, after London mayor Boris Johnson came out in support of Brexit.
But a weaker pound could end up benefiting many FTSE stocks, which have substantial international exposure.
"Mining companies have underperformed more UK-exposed shares as growth in the UK economy outpaced other parts of the world. With Brexit uncertainty possibly disrupting business investment and consumer spending, it could be the more internationally-exposed sectors’ time to shine," Lawler added.
More generally, analysts at JP Morgan said in a note: "In the event of UK leaving, the initial knee-jerk impact on the market could be quite negative, but we believe the resulting GBP weakness and BoE action will cushion a chunk of the fall in equities."
House builders meanwhile ended up at the bottom of the FTSE. Berkeley Group Holding's share price fell 4.85 per cent to 3,203p, while Taylor Wimpey was down 4.74 per cent to 175p per share.
Barratt Developments also fell 4.45 per cent to 560p per share, and Persimmon ended the session at 1,973p per share, a 4.32 per cent rise.