LONDON MARKETS: FTSE 100 Weighed Down By Housing Shares, Royal Mail
January 19 2017 - 7:26AM
Dow Jones News
By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
Miners fall as dollar strength pressures metals prices
Stocks in the U.K. traded lower Thursday as home-builder shares
fell after a lackluster update on house prices, while Royal Mail
PLC shares struggled following a trading update.
The FTSE 100 lost 0.5% to 7,210.411, with only the consumer
goods sector showing a modest gain. On Wednesday, the benchmark
rose 0.4%
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ftse-100-in-recovery-mode-after-worst-selloff-in-six-months-2017-01-18).
A 5.4% drop dragged Royal Mail (RMG.LN) shares to the bottom of
the London benchmark. The delivery company reported U.K. sales
declined 2% in the nine months to Dec. 25
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/royal-mail-uk-sales-fall-2-holds-to-outlook-2017-01-19).
But trading was in line with expectations, it said, as strong
performance over the Christmas period helped counter those poor
figures.
Meanwhile, home-builder stocks lost ground after a Royal
Institution of Chartered Surveyors survey found U.K. house-price
growth slowed in December, for the first time since July.
Shares of Barratt Developments PLC (BDEV.LN) and Taylor Wimpey
(TW.LN) each fell 1.5%, and Persimmon PLC (PSN.LN) gave up
1.1%.
Miners on the move: Mining shares were moving lower as most
metals prices fell, with gold down nearly 1% and silver losing
nearly 2%. The moves for metals came as the dollar rose, following
Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen's comment
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/feds-yellen-says-she-expects-rates-to-rise-a-few-times-a-year-until-end-of-2019-2017-01-18)
that the central bank expects a few interest rate hikes a year
through the end of 2019. A strong buck can make dollar-denominated
metals more expensive for holders of other currencies.
Copper miner Fresnillo PLC (FRES.LN) fell 2.3%, Randgold
Resources PLC (RRS.LN) fell 1.2%, and Anglo American PLC (AAL.LN)
shed 2.2%. But Antofagasta PLC (ANTO.LN) was up 1.2%.
Shares of BHP Billiton PLC (BLT.LN) (BHP.AU) (BHP.AU) turned
lower, losing 0.5%. The mining heavyweight and its Samarco
Mineracao SA joint venture partner Vale SA (VALE5.BR) agreed a
settlement plan with federal prosecutors in Brazil
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/bhp-billiton-vale-jv-agree-dam-settlement-plan-2017-01-19).
The plan covers negotiations over a $47.5 billion civil claim
linked to a deadly dam failure.
Equities overall also felt the weight of a rebound in the pound,
with sterling was buying $1.2331, up from $1.2268 late
Wednesday.
U.K.'s May and ECB's Draghi: The European Central Bank on
Thursday met widely held expectations by leaving its key interest
rates steady, including its overnight deposit facility at minus
0.4%. ECB President Mario Draghi is expected to hold a conference
call at 1:30 p.m. London time. Last month, the ECB decided to
extend its bond-buying program through the end of 2017, but reduce
the pace of monthly purchases to EUR60 billion from EUR80 billion,
starting in April.
Read:'The more boring, the better'--what to watch from the ECB
today
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-more-boring-the-better-why-analysts-are-hoping-for-an-ecb-snoozer-2017-01-18)
British Prime Minister Theresa May told attendees at the World
Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that Britain is open for
business to the world after last year's Brexit vote. She said the
result of the referendum wasn't aimed at undermining the European
Union, but voters wanted the country to have greater freedom to
make sovereign decisions.
Read:May urges businesses to 'play by the same rules' that
ordinary workers foll
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/may-urges-businesses-to-play-by-the-same-rules-that-ordinary-workers-follow-2017-01-19)ow
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 19, 2017 08:11 ET (13:11 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
FTSE 100
Index Chart
From Apr 2024 to May 2024
FTSE 100
Index Chart
From May 2023 to May 2024