FTSE claws back ‘Black Monday’ losses

London’s blue-chip stocks rebounded to see their biggest rise in almost four years, clawing back all the losses seen at the start of this week in a session dubbed “Black Monday”.

The FTSE 100 has rebounded amid volatile trading

At the end of trading day, the FTSE 100 was up 3.6 per cent or 212.83 points at 6,192.03 – the sharpest gain in percentage terms since October 2011.

Laith Khalaf, senior analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said the rebound from Wednesday’s drop of 1.7 per cent for the FTSE 100, sparked by fears over the slowing Chinese economy, meant that £60 billion had been added to the value of the UK’s biggest listed companies.

He added: “It’s been one of the best ever days for the UK stock market, neatly illustrating why it’s a bad idea to sell out in a market rout. Black Monday was a truly dreadful day for stock investors, but it’s been followed by big bounce, with the Footsie now back where it ended last week. Markets tend to over-react to both good and bad news, so sharp falls are often followed by strong rallies.”

Mining stocks, which have suffered heavy losses amid the rout as commodity prices have slumped, were the biggest risers in the top-flight index.

Anglo American led the charge, soaring 62p or 9.3 per cent to 726.3p, closely followed by rival BHP Billiton, which jumped 93p to 1,102.5P – an increase of 9.2 per cent.

Elsewhere, challenger bank Aldermore surged 22.1p or 8 per cent to 300.1p in the FTSE 250 after seeing interim profits double to £39.5m.

Asia-focused lender Standard Chartered was another strong gainer, rising 49.7p or 7 per cent to 757p, while HSBC leapt 23.5p or 4.7 per cent to 519.7p.

But Glasgow’s STV fell 22.25p, or 4.8 per cent, to 445p after unveiling a fall in first-half profits.