Santa Rally gifts record close to London

LONDON: London stocks closed at a record high Wednesday on the back of a Santa Rally in subdued trade after a long Christmas holiday, while Wall Street retreated from record highs.The British capital’s benchmark FTSE 100 index of top blue-chip firms won 0.5 percent from last Friday as traders returned from a four-day holiday weekend, closing at a record high of 7,106.08 points, beating the previous record of 7,103.98 set in April 2015.The “Santa Rally bullishness appears to remain firm on hopes of an OPEC-led production cut and Trump stimulus,” Accendo Markets analyst Mike van Dulken told AFP, with rising oil prices boosting a number of FTSE 100 stocks.The record close came as US stocks have also been setting new highs following the US election victory of Donald Trump sparking hopes of additional spending and tax cuts, with the Dow having flirted with the 20,000 level in recent weeks.Rising commodity prices have also boosted mining companies on the FTSE.”The FTSE 100 is the star performer today, helped on its way higher by an excellent turn from the index’s mining contingent,” said analyst Chris Beauchamp at online trading firm IG.Shares in Anglo American shot up 3.6 percent and BHP Billiton jumped 4.3 percent and Fresnillo soared 5.2 percent.Rangold rose 4.9 percent and Rio Tinto 3.4 percent.The main corporate deal of the day was British energy giant BP, which announced it has bought a network of Australian petrol stations from supermarket chain Woolworths for US$1.3 billion (1.2 billion euros).BP said in a statement that it will establish a strategic partnership with Woolworths in a deal for the purchase, rebranding and operation of Woolworths’ existing 527 fuel and convenience stores, plus 16 sites under construction, for the equivalent of AUS$1.8 billion.The company’s share price bumped 1.2 percent higher to close at 508.90 pence.Frankfurt and Paris, which had reopened Tuesday, were essentially flat on Wednesday.Thin trading volumes are expected to continue during what is the last trading week of 2016.