UK investors have high hopes for China

UK shares were up on Friday, on the good news that data confirmed the U.K. avoided a contraction in the first quarter. The Office for National Statistics said the GDP was up 0.1% in Q1, in line with expectations. Investors also welcomed the news that US banks passed the Fed’s annual stress test, as well as weak China data that raised hopes of a stimulus from the country’s authorities. The FTSE 100 ended the session 0.8% higher.

Hopes of a Chinese stimulus is still moving UK shares higher today, especially miners, with Anglo American and Glencore up 2.3% and 1.7% respectively. China-exposed banks HSBC and Standard Chartered are also doing well today.

Drugmaker AstraZeneca published a study about a lung cancer treatment that fuelled concern the drug might not work as well as previously thought, sending its shares down 4.2%.

Things to read today:

Here’s a tale of economic ‘resilience’ — but it’s not the one you think (Financial Times)

It’s Getting a Lot Harder to Chase the Stock Rally From Here On (Bloomberg)