Gains for commodities as investors bargain on interest rates staying lower for longer helps miners post early gains in London this morning.
Most commodities traded higher overnight, including crude, copper and natural gas, with gold the only notable loser, down 0.25% to $1241 (£859).
Diggers Rio Tinto (RIO), Anglo American (AAL), BHP Billiton (BLT) and Antofagasta (ANTO) all start with gains of more than 3%, with the FTSE 100 trading 0.8% higher at 6,258.
Disappointing jobs data in the US on Friday is backed up this morning by weak factory orders in Germany, which fell a worse-than-expected 2.0% in April.
Soft economic data means markets are now slashing probabilities of near-term interest rate hikes in the US in particular.
Trading at the start of the week also has a Brexit flavour as sterling slips a cent against the dollar and the euro at $1.442 and EUR1.270.
Pressure on sterling is the result of a weekend EU referendum poll in the Observer which shows rising support for a 'Leave' vote.
Housebuilders Berkeley (BKG), Persimmon (PSN) and Barratt Developments (BDEV), all considered to be 'Brexit' losers, are the three biggest fallers, each down 1.5% or more.
Elsewhere, personal care and beauty products supplier Swallowfield (SWL:AIM) surges 18% higher to 192.5p on the £11 million acquisition of Brand Architekts and a positive trading update, highlighting continued strong momentum behind the business. Alongside a new debt facility, the earnings-enhancing deal, bringing critical mass to Swallowfield's owned brand portfolio, is being funded through a significantly oversubscribed £8.6 million placing, priced at 155p and backed by existing and new shareholders including several members of the board.
Oil services business Hardide (HDD:AIM) crashes 21% to 0.65p as its warns on revenues and profits. The company says the downturn in oil and gas exploration has hit its first-half revenues, which all but halve to £0.95 million, plunging it into the red at the EBITDA level.
Chinese online gambling company PCG Entertainment (PCGE:AIM) gains 9.5% to 0.6p after saying it is in a strong position to defend a debt repayment claim of $2.1 million, news of which caused the shares to crash 35% on 31 May. PCG also says it's in discussions with several media companies regarding distribution deals which it hopes to close in the coming months.
Drug addiction treatment specialist Indivior (INDV) falls back 9.2% to 213.4p after winning a patent dispute saw the shares climb 36% on Friday.
Eco Animal Health (EAH:AIM) advances 5.1% to 410p on Europe’s regulator allowing it to sell Aivlosin, a respiratory infection treatment for chickens. Management hopes that the ruling will speed up the treatment’s approval in other global egg laying markets.
Set-top box and connected homes kit designer Amino Technologies (AMO:AIM) rallies around 5% higher to 106p as it confirms a solid and in line performance during the first-half. The Cambridge-based company says trading for the six months to 31 May was in line with market views for revenue, and profit before tax and exceptional items.
