London midday: Miners pace the advance as FTSE extends gains; Nvidia in focus

(Sharecast News) - London stocks had extended gains by midday on Monday, with miners pacing the advance, as oil prices eased and as investors mulled news over the weekend that US chip giant Nvidia is facing an alleged spying scandal. The FTSE 100 was up 0.8% at 10,761.38, recovering from last week's tech-led selloff, while Brent crude was down 3.5% at $94.93 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate was off 2.9% at $88.22 after Donald Trump said new attacks on Iran were unlikely while talks to end the conflict progress.

Speaking to CNN, the US president said: "It depends on whether or not they sign a very strong agreement.

"The answer is, highly unlikely it's going to be necessary."

Meanwhile, the big news over the weekend was that Nvidia has launched an investigation after founder Jensen Huang admitted having an affair with a woman suspected of spying for China.

In a memo sent to employees on Sunday, Huang - who has led the business for more than 30 years - admitted: "I owe my family and all of you an apology. I was unfaithful to my wife. My actions hurt her and our children. There is no excuse for what I did. I am deeply sorry.

"I love our country and our company. I am committed to protecting Nvidia and supporting America's national security."

Separately, Nvidia confirmed the board was launching an independent investigation "in light of recent reporting that...Huang has been the target of a foreign intelligence effort".

Neither the company nor Huang named the woman. However, she was widely reported to be Alice Huang, an executive at Singapore-based Nvidia customer Megaspeed. US officials believe she was recruited by China's Ministry of State Security intelligence agency.

A spokesperson for China's Foreign Ministry said that allegations "about Chinese spies are entirely groundless, speculative and intended to smear and malign China".

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell said: "A fragile recovery in markets was seen across Asia and Europe on Monday.

"However, with a potential espionage scandal at Nvidia in the background, US futures were pointing to a mixed start when trading gets underway later with the tech-focused Nasdaq index going back into reverse.

"Investors are clearly not ready to put the AI slowdown-related fears unleashed by the Democratic blue wave in the midterms behind them."

Mould added: "Gold miners were higher as the precious metal found some sparkle and other mining shares also benefited from rising prices for industrial metals. These commodities benefited from weakness in the US dollar and a recent easing in government bond yields."

Fresnillo, Antofagasta, Anglo American, Rio Tinto, Glencore, Endeavour Mining, Hochschild and Pan African Resources all rose.

Corporate releases were scarce, but digital technology firm Kainos tumbled despite posting a rise in first-half profit and revenue. Mould said: "Investors were unimpressed by evidence of pressure on gross margins and an underwhelming full-year outlook."

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,761.38 0.82% FTSE 250 (MCX) 24,657.27 0.62% techMARK (TASX) 6,199.74 0.77%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Antofagasta (ANTO) 3,257.00p 4.98% Anglo American (AAL) 3,859.00p 4.43% Fresnillo (FRES) 2,623.00p 4.30% Glencore (GLEN) 510.90p 3.12% International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 445.20p 2.81% Rio Tinto (RIO) 6,417.00p 2.75% Babcock International Group (BAB) 1,038.50p 2.72% Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 4,286.00p 2.58% Metlen Energy & Metals (MTLN) 45.62p 2.56% Prudential (PRU) 944.40p 2.47%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Ithaca Energy (ITH) 244.90p -1.29% Shell (SHEL) 3,687.50p -0.94% Barratt Redrow (BTRW) 329.40p -0.90% London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) 9,380.00p -0.89% British American Tobacco (BATS) 4,534.00p -0.66% Imperial Brands (IMB) 2,951.00p -0.64% BP (BP.) 556.10p -0.61% Tesco (TSCO) 550.60p -0.58% SEGRO (SGRO) 908.20p -0.53% Bunzl (BNZL) 2,848.00p -0.42%

FTSE 250 - Risers

TBC Bank Group (TBCG) 5,135.00p 5.75% Endeavour Mining (EDV) 4,279.00p 5.33% Raspberry PI Holdings (RPI) 518.25p 5.10% Hochschild Mining (HOC) 511.00p 4.84% Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 1,106.00p 4.24% Seraphim Space Investment Trust (SSIT) 175.40p 4.03% Pan African Resources (PAF) 120.20p 3.98% HGCapital Trust (HGT) 392.50p 3.56% Discoverie Group (DSCV) 795.00p 3.11% Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 2,508.00p 2.96%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Kainos Group (KNOS) 1,079.00p -12.36% Trustpilot Group (TRST) 257.40p -2.80% Bytes Technology Group (BYIT) 431.60p -1.95% 4Imprint Group (FOUR) 4,302.00p -1.56% Diversified Energy Company (DI) (DEC) 950.00p -1.55% Partners Group Private Equity Limited. (EUR) (PEY) 6.56p -1.50% Persimmon (PSN) 1,284.00p -1.49% Frasers Group (FRAS) 967.50p -1.43% Vistry Group (VTY) 259.60p -1.37% Fidelity Emerging Markets Limited Ptg NPV (FEML) 1,202.00p -1.31%