StockMarketWire.com - An apparent shift in the US position on tariffs for Chinese goods is helping the financial markets to a buoyant end to the week.
By midday the FTSE 100 was up 1.4% at 6,927.29 with US futures pointing to a materially higher open when trading resumes later on this afternoon.
LARGE AND MID CAP RISERS AND FALLERS
Ryanair fell 1.7% after the budget carrier downgraded its full-year profit guidance due to a 7% slump in winter ticket prices.
Rio Tinto added 0.7% to £39.25 after it notched higher copper and iron ore production in calendar 2018, though output slipped for aluminium and titanium.
Cyber security company Sophos Group plunged 22.1% to 293.4p as investors looked past a swing to profit in the third quarter and focused on a decline in billings.
Safety technology group Halma gained 1.1% to £14 on news that it had acquired emergency communications systems supplier Business Marketers Group for $42.4m.
SMALL CAP RISERS AND FALLERS
Currency manager Record slumped 6.8% to 29.5p after it reported a fall in third-quarter assets under management due market volatility and net fund outflows.
Fund manager Miton lost 2.9% to 51p, despite recording a 15% rise in annual assets under management underpinned by a doubling of net inflows.
Struggling restaurant owner Richoux dropped 14.3% to 6p on announcing that it had decided to cancel its listing on AIM and go private to save on administrative costs and perhaps attract financial backing.
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