Miners led Britain's FTSE 100 higher early Tuesday, boosted by stronger-than-expected manufacturing data from China, and as the index caught up with sharp gains posted in Europe in the previous session. London's blue chip index was up 67.67 points or 1.2 percent at 5,639.95 by 0903 GMT on the first trading day since the new year holiday break. “Following on from a solid performance across Europe yesterday, investors piled in and trading screens quickly turned blue,” Manoj Ladwa, senior trader at ETX Capital, said. “Traders will be looking for the positive momentum to continue as January usually serves as a barometer for the rest of the year.” Technical analysts said the FTSE 100 still faces the challenge of closing above its 200-day moving average, currently around 5,610, which it has failed to do since late July 2011, but could push on should it achieve that feat. UK-listed stocks echoed gains in Europe on Monday, when British investors were enjoying their extended new year's break, and overnight in Asia where commodity stocks were given a lift after China reported a slight expansion in business activity in the factory sector.
