LONDON MARKETS: Banks, Miners Drag FTSE 100 Lower
April 13 2017 - 3:51AM
Dow Jones News
By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
Investors wrap up week shortened by Easter break
U.K. stocks declined Thursday, with bank shares among those
losing ground as investors prepare to wrap up the holiday-shortened
week.
The FTSE 100 dropped 0.5% to 7,314.94, with only the technology
sector showing a gain.
The moves come on the last day of the trading week, as the
equity market will be closed tomorrow for the Good Friday holiday.
Trading will also be closed Monday in observance of Easter.
Read:When are European stock markets closed for Easter?
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/when-are-european-stock-markets-closed-for-the-easter-holiday-2017-04-12)
For the shortened week, the FTSE 100 was on track for a loss of
0.5%.
Banks in focus: Bank shares in the U.K. lost ground as the
market waited for financial results from U.S. heavyweights in the
sector: Citigroup Inc. (C), J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) and
Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) .
See:J.P. Morgan earnings: Expect strong trading results, talk of
regulations and tax reform
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/jp-morgan-earnings-expect-strong-trading-results-talk-of-regulations-and-tax-reform-2017-04-10)
Investors will listen for what Wall Street banks say about the
outlook for U.S. regulatory changes. Bank shares globally have
risen on the prospect the Trump administration will relax rules for
financial firms, but those hopes have been tempered as uncertainty
over the implementation of that policy grows.
In London, HSBC Holdings PLC (HSBA.LN) (HSBA.LN) (HSBA.LN)
dropped 1%, Barclays PLC (BCS) (BCS) shed 0.4%, Royal Bank of
Scotland PLC shares (RBS.LN) (RBS.LN) slipped 0.2%, and Standard
Chartered PLC shares (STAN.LN) declined 0.6%.
But Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LLOY.LN) (LLOY.LN) outperformed,
rising 0.2%.
Miners hold back: Mining shares were mixed despite a leap in
metals prices, including a nearly 1% jump in copper and gold
futures.
Metals prices rose as the dollar was knocked down late Thursday.
The moves came after U.S. President Donald Trump told The Wall
Street Journal the U.S. currency "is getting too strong"
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/trump-comes-around-to-the-sound-of-the-phrase-strong-dollar-2017-04-12)
and he would prefer the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates
low.
"It's very, very hard to compete when you have a strong dollar
and other countries are devaluing their currency," he said.
A weaker dollar tends to boost dollar-denominated commodities as
it makes them less expensive to buy for holders of other
currencies.
In the mining group, Glencore PLC (GLEN.LN) fell 0.6%, Rio Tinto
PLC (RIO) (RIO) (RIO) declined 0.4%, and Anglo American PLC
(AAL.LN) was off about 0.1%.
But Fresnillo PLC (FRES.LN) tacked on 1.2%, Randgold Resources
PLC (RRS.LN) rose 0.7%, and Antofagasta PLC (ANTO.LN) picked up
0.4%.
Investors were also assessing a trade update from China, a large
buyer of precious and industrial metals. The country's exports rose
more than expected in March
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/china-exports-rise-164-trade-surplus-returns-2017-04-13)
on improved global demand, bringing trade back into surplus. That
data raised the prospect that next week's report on China's
first-quarter gross domestic product will show steady growth.
Other movers: Royal Mail PLC (RMG.LN) climbed 1.4% after the
postal company said it will stop paying into its pension plan on
March 31, 2018
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/royal-mail-sets-date-to-stop-pension-plan-payment-2017-04-13)
as it expects contributions to more than double. It also said it
can't see an affordable solution to keeping it open in its current
form.
Mediclinic International PLC (MDC.LN) jumped 4.3%. The
international private health care company said trading for fiscal
2017 has been in line with expectations, with revenue growth in all
regions
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/mediclinic-2017-trading-in-line-with-expectations-2017-04-13)
except Abu Dhabi.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 13, 2017 04:36 ET (08:36 GMT)
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