BREAKING - Commodity stocks lift FTSE 100 on upbeat China factory data

London's FTSE 100 rose on Monday as commodity stocks jumped due to upbeat factory data from China and optimism around a COVID-19 vaccine, while investors awaited progress on a post-Brexit trade deal with the European Union.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 index .FTSE rose 0.7%. British Airways owner-IAG ICAG.L led the gains with a 5.9% jump after HSBC raised its target price on the stock.

Energy .FTNMX0530 and mining .FTNMX1770 stocks tracked crude and metal prices higher. They were also buoyed by a faster-than-expected growth in the Japanese economy and better-than-expected Chinese industrial output data.

The mid-cap FTSE 250 index .FTMC added 0.7% as Brexit talks resumed in Brussels, with Britain saying its red lines remained unchanged but that it wanted to reach a trade deal with the European Union.

The FTSE 100 has already gained more than 13% this month, outperforming its U.S. and European peers, helped by a slew of local stimulus measures and hopes of a sooner-than-expected economic recovery.

The banks' sub-index .FTNMX8350 gained 2.6%, following news that PNC Financial Services Group Inc PNC.N would buy the U.S. business of Spanish lender BBVA BBVA.MC for $11.6 billion in cash.

Vodafone Group Plc added 3.5% after saying it was increasingly confident about its full-year performance, while Whitbread Plc WTB.L rose 3.6% on Goldman Sachs' double upgrade to "buy".

Tech firm Smiths Group SMIN.L rose 2.5% after highlighting a 30-million-pound cost-saving target for FY21.

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