UK stocks steady as Trump eases tone on China tariff; gold miners shine

(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock markets, click (LIVE/) or type LIVE/ in a news window) FTSE 100 up 0.7%, FTSE 250 UP 1.15% Miners drive gains Big Yellow soars as Blackstone considers buyout Oct 13 (Reuters) - London shares made a modest recovery on Monday, led by miners, as U.S. President Donald Trump softened his rhetoric on trade tensions with China, worries about which had sparked a sharp selloff on Friday. The blue-chip FTSE 100 (.FTSE) was up 0.07% as of 1012 GMT, having dropped 0.9% in the previous session after Trump threatened 100% tariffs on Chinese imports, reigniting fears of a trade war between the world’s two largest economies. The mid-cap focused FTSE 250 (.FTMC) gained 1.15%. Over the weekend, Trump struck a more conciliatory tone, posting that “it will all be fine” and that the U.S. had no intention to “hurt” China. In the market, precious metal miners (.FTNMX551030) led gains with 7% rise as gold prices hit another record high. (GOL/) Gold miners Fresnillo (FRES.L) and Endeavour (EDV.L) gained the most in the FTSE 100 with 7.6% and 6.4% rise, respectively. In the latest round of mergers and acquisitions, U.S. private equity giant Blackstone (BX.N) said it was in the early stages of considering a cash offer for Big Yellow Group (BYG.L) , lifting the self-storage firm’s shares 18.3%. Rival Safestore (SAFE.L) also jumped 11.2% on the news. Tritax Big Box (BBOXT.L) gained nearly 3% after Blackstone agreed to buy a 9% stake in the UK real estate investment trust. Tritax agreed to buy Blackstone’s UK logistics assets for 1.04 billion pounds ($1.39 billion). The broader real estate sector (.FTUB3510) advanced 2.5%. An index of industrial metal miners (.FTNMX551020) rose 2.2%, tracking gains in copper prices. (MET/L) Mining heavyweights Anglo American (AAL.L) , Glencore (GLEN.L) and Rio Tinto (RIO.L) rose between 1.5% and 2.8%, helping lift the blue chip index. Among other individual stocks, Oxford Instruments (OXIG.L) shed 11.4% as the company expects H1 revenue to drop and said the shortfall is unlikely to be recovered. Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY.L) gained 1% after a motor finance charge came in lower than anticipated.