FTSE 100 hits fresh high as mining stocks rally

European stocks declined on Monday after last week's gains, but the FTSE 100 blue-chip index managed to reverse slips in early trading to set a new record high, on the back of gains in mining and resources stocks including BHP Billiton and Glencore.

DUBLIN The Iseq slid 0.8 per cent as major stocks including CRH and Ryanair fell. The building materials group finished down 1.1 per cent at €25.34, while Ryanair slipped 1.5 per cent to €10.60. The airline repurchased almost 300,000 of its own shares as part of its €400 million share buy-back programme.

Insulation company Kingspan dropped 1.4 per cent to €17.98 on a day in which it completed its acquisition of Steel Partners, the holding company of the Joris Ide group.

Paper and packaging group Smurfit Kappa closed at €25.96, down 0.8 per cent. But there were gains for food group Glanbia, fruit company Total Produce and Bank of Ireland, while Aer Lingus climbed more than 2 per cent to €2.38.

LONDON UK stocks rose, reversing earlier declines, to extend five straight days of gains and set a new record high. The FTSE 100 stayed above the 7,000 mark, adding 0.2 per cent and erasing an earlier decline of 0.4 per cent, as mining stocks rallied.

The UK mining index gained 2.2 per cent as copper hit a two-month high, driven by a weaker dollar on expectations the US Federal Reserve will stay accommodative over the near term. Global miner BHP Billiton rose 2.6 per cent, while Glencore was up 2.4 per cent.

Asia-focused Standard Chartered was the top FTSE 100 performer and its 6.5 per cent rise took gains to more than 20 per cent since mid-March on the back of a weaker dollar and positive broker comments, with Citi and JP Morgan becoming the latest to upgrade the bank.

However, engineering company Weir Group fell 2.2 per cent to 1,801 pence after RBC downgraded it to "sector perform" from "top pick", and cut its price target to 1,850 pence from 2,150 pence.

EUROPE The Stoxx Europe 600 Index was down 0.7 per cent at the close of trading. The Stoxx 600 exceeded its 2007 peak last week on speculation the Federal Reserve won't rush to raise rates.

Auto-related companies posted the biggest loss of the 19 industry groups on the Stoxx 600, with Daimler and Volkswagen declining more than 3 per cent.

Greek stocks rose amid optimism that the second meeting in five days between Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras and German chancellor Angela Merkel may pave the way for aid payments. The Athens Stock Exchange index gained 3 per cent.

Deutsche Bank rose 0.7 per cent, after earlier gains of as much as 4 per cent. The German lender, which runs Europe's biggest investment bank, is weighing three options to boost its profitability that would see the securities unit being scaled back, according to a person familiar with the matter.

NEW YORK Stocks were little changed in early trading, as investors weighed fluctuations in the dollar and its impact on other markets, including crude prices.

Equity market gains ebbed and flowed, tracking the behaviour of energy stocks as crude oil prices were caught between the weak US dollar and concerns about oversupply.

Kansas City Southern shares dropped 7.8 per cent to $106.70 as the worst performer on the S&P 500, after the railroad company cut its full-year revenue forecast. Gilead Sciences shares fell 1.9 per cent to $100.33 after a report said nine patients taking its hepatitis C drugs along with a heart treatment developed abnormally slow heartbeats and one died.

The Nasdaq Biotech index fell for the first time in nine sessions, down 2.3 per cent. – Additional reporting: Bloomberg / Reuters