Miners drive FTSE 100 higher, Smurfit Kappa climbs to top as profit jumps

Pearson added 2.4% as the education group reiterated its full-year profit forecast after reporting underlying sales growth of 7% in the first quarter. Leading the miners, Anglo American gained 1.8%, providing the top boost to the FTSE 100 index.

London's FTSE 100 rose on Friday, driven by gains in miners and strong quarterly earnings, edging up for the month amid concerns over soaring inflation and global economic growth. The blue-chip index had gained 0.3% by 07:17 GMT and was up nearly 0.2% for the month. In April, the Ukraine war, China's COVID lockdowns, and surging inflation have weighed on the outlook for the global economy, sparking volatility ahead of the Bank of England's May meeting next week.

Smurfit Kappa jumped 3.5% to the top of the index as the box maker's revenue and core profit both surged 33% year-on-year in the first quarter. Pearson added 2.4% as the education group reiterated its full-year profit forecast after reporting underlying sales growth of 7% in the first quarter.

Leading the miners, Anglo Americans gained 1.8%, providing the top boost to the FTSE 100 index. The domestically focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index advanced 0.7%.