FTSE 100 shares closed back above 7,000 level on Friday after Tesco’s (LON:TSCO) trolley was ahead throughout the session.
The supermarket giant which late on Thursday won a spat with consumer goods titan Unilever (LON:ULVR) over the cost of goods post-Brexit, led the blue-chip ticker all day in a victorious march, closing up 4.4% at 203.7p. Unilever ended down 1.4% at 3,547.5p.
That set the mood for the wider bourse, while the FTSE 100 itself ended up 0.5% up at 7,013.
Other grocers also gained, with the fourth-biggest gainer on the FTSE 100 being Marks & Spencer (LON:MKS) up 2.4% at 327p.
The mid-cap FTSE 250 ended the day 0.6% better at 17,980 and briefly returned above 18,000 intraday, underpinned by a 14% surge for Man Group (LON:EMG) shares to 123.7p after the hedge fund manager reported a jump in third-quarter funds under management and announced an agreement to acquire German real asset manager Aalto Invest Holding AG.
The FTSE AIM 100 Index ended up 0.1% at 3969 and the FTSE AIM All-Share Index up 0.1% as well, at 826.
On the currency markets, sterling lost some of its earlier gains against the dollar, and was down 0.5% at $1.2189.
Across the London market, 36% of stocks gained and only 25% fell. The top gainer overall was Independent Resources (LON:IRG), up 44% to 0.1225p after the firm said it landed a £340,000 unsecured loan from Brandon Hill Capital, a major shareholder in the company.
The biggest faller was Aureus Mining (LON:AUE), down 16% to 2p after it said it had raised $72mln in order to finance its transition to an owner-operator mining model.
MID-SESSION - FTSE 100 still higher, Tesco top dog
Britain's blue chips were still higher at lunch, with the top share index at 7,028 - up over 51 points.
The big gainer was supermarket supertanker Tesco (LON:TSCO), which gained 4.1% to 202.95, to take the Footsie podium prize on Friday.
It comes after the well documented Marmite-gate was resolved but experts say dozens of brands will attempt to raise their prices by at least 10% over the coming weeks as customers are hit in the wake of a Brexit price war between suppliers and retailers.
FTSE AIM 100 is also higher, up 0.3% at 3,976.
Miners were taking a hit, with Antofagasta PLC (LON:ANTO) down 3.71% to stand at 519.50p.
Porta Communications (LON:PTCM) was up over 23% to 4.625p. It comes after news yesterday that detailed a board reshuffle designed to prepare it for the "next phase in its development".
Also higher was Independent Resources plc (LON:IRG), up over 38% to 0.1175p as it entered into a loan agreement for an unsecured loan of up to £340,000 with Brandon Hill Capital Limited - an existing shareholder and debt holder.
Conversely, Aureus Mining Inc (TSX: AUE, LON:AUE) has conditionally raised around US$72mln in a placing to among other things, repay amounts due to lender and to strengthen its balance sheet. Shares fell 21% to 1.875p.
OPEN - FTSE 100 opens higher as Tesco the top riser
FTSE 100 is heading higher at the open with Tesco (LON:TSCO) the biggest gainer.
The blue-chip benchmark is back above 7,000 at 7,027 at the time of writing - that's 49 points up.
Tesco is up 3.46% to stand at 201.85p as it emerged its spat with food and drink supplier Unilever plc (LON:ULVR), dubbed Marmite-gate, was now settled. It was a price argument following the latter's demands on the grocer for as 10% price rise increase on its goods following the Brexit vote.
Unilever, which reported third quarter results on Thursday, saw shares drop 0.58% in early deals. It came as broker Liberum repeated its 'sell' stance on the shares.
Investor sentiment was also buoyed by Chinese inflation data, which was taken to be encouraging.
In small caps, FTSE AIM 100 was also higher - up 0.09% to stand at 3,968.
Strategic Minerals plc (LON:SML), the multi commodity mining group, continues its good run, adding over 10% to stand at 0.80p.
PREVIEW AT 6.50AM
FTSE 100 is called to open higher on Friday after it dropped below the 7,000 level yesterday and global shares went lower.
Overnight, sentiment was hit in Asia as Chinese trade data was weaker than had been expected, with exports falling 10% last month, compared with a 3.2% drop predicted under one poll.
The UK markets were dominated yesterday was dominated by the very public Brexit related spat between blue chips Tesco (LON:TSCO) and Unilever's (LON:ULVR) as the former stopped selling dozens of the other's goods online - including Marmite and PG Tips, over a row over pricing, which has now been reportedly settled.
FTSE 100 closed out at 6,977, over 46 points, or 0.66% lower, but is today called by IG index to bounce back and start around 25 points lower.
US shares also fell yesterday, but managed to recoup some losses as US oil prices rebounded despite a big build in weekly inventories of over 4mln barrels. At the time of writing US crude is up o.65% to stand at over US$50 a barrel.
Gold is down 0.10% to stand at US$1,256 per ounce.
The Dow Jones closed down 45 at 18,098, while the S&P500 was down six, or 0.31% to stand at 2,132.
In China, the Shanghai Composite index is down 0.56% to 3,044, while the Nikkei 225 in Japan is up 0.45% at 16,848.
Michael Hewson, at CMC Markets, said of today's open: "The late rebound in oil prices and weaker US dollar could well help to see markets in Europe open slightly higher this morning."
However, he added the US dollar remained on an upward track, which was likely to act as a 'significant' drag on US earnings into year end, which in turn is likely to make US stock markets particularly vulnerable as a potential rate hike looms.
City Headlines
Tesco and Unilever settle Marmite dispute - The Guardian
SoftBank and Saudi Arabia plan $100bn tech fund - The FT
Standard & Poor's warns on UK reserve currency status as Brexit hardens - Daily Telegraph
Odds lengthen on William Hill’s £4.5bn Amaya merger as activist hits out - CITY AM