LONDON MARKETS: FTSE 100 Ends At 2-month High As Pound Pulls Back
August 08 2017 - 11:42AM
Dow Jones News
By Carla Mozee and Victor Reklaitis, MarketWatch
Sterling slumps vs. dollar after upbeat U.S. data on job
openings
U.K. stocks nabbed slight gains Tuesday, closing at their
highest level since early June, helped by the pound's drop against
the dollar following an upbeat reading on U.S. job openings.
The FTSE 100 index rose 0.1% to end at 7,542.73, giving the
gauge its strongest finish since June 2. It briefly traded above
its all-time closing high of 7,547.63 hit in late May, but couldn't
stay atop that level.
The British blue-chip benchmark flipped positive in afternoon
action as the pound lost ground in the wake of a U.S. release
saying the number of job openings there rose to a fresh record
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/job-openings-climb-to-record-616-million-in-june-2017-08-08).
A weaker sterling can boost the FTSE 100, as many of the index's
multinational companies generate most of their profit in
foreign-denominated currencies.
"It seems that the JOLTS job openings reading--which far
surpassed expectations at 6.16 million against last month's 5.67
million--mainly benefited the dollar, which is currently on the
hunt for the faintest whiff of good news," said Connor Campbell, a
financial analyst at Spreadex, in a note.
The pound slumped after the figure was released and that "helped
the FTSE edge back into the green," Campbell added.
The pound on Tuesday recently bought $1.2966, down from $1.3036
late Monday in New York.
Miners make moves: Mining stocks initially were under pressure
Tuesday after the release of Chinese trade data
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/china-export-growth-slows-but-up-for-5th-month-2017-08-08),
which showed July exports and imports grew at a slower pace than in
recent months. But they managed to erase losses. Shares in iron-ore
producer BHP Billiton PLC (BLT.LN) (BHP.AU) (BHP.AU) closed 0.1%
higher, while peer Rio Tinto PLC (RIO) (RIO) (RIO) gave up
0.3%.
"On the import side, the slowdown appears to have been driven by
fewer imports of industrial commodities. Softer import volumes,
rather than lower prices, are mostly to blame," said Julian
Evans-Pritchard, an economist at Capital Economics who covers
China, in a note.
"This hints at a possible slowdown in domestic demand last
month," he said. China is a major buyer of both industrial and
precious metals.
Mining stocks on Monday rose, keying off a rally in iron ore
prices.
Store sales: Retail shares shook off early weakness that had
come as the British Retail Consortium said U.K. retail sales in
July slowed from a year ago. Sales rose 0.9%, compared with 1.1% a
year earlier.
Next PLC shares (NXT.LN) were lower, but finished up by 0.9%.
Marks & Spencer Group PLC (MKS.LN) gained 1%, and DIY retailer
Kingfisher PLC (KGF.LN) picked up 1.3%
Other movers: Meanwhile, shares of Standard Life PLC (SL.LN)
lost 0.3% after the financial services company posted a 14% decline
in first-half pretax profit
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/standard-life-profit-drops-14-hikes-dividend-2017-08-08),
hurt by a fall in revenue and investment returns. Standard Life did
raise its interim dividend to 7 pence a share.
InterContinental Hotels shares (IHG) (IHG) slid 4% on concerns
about slower room-revenue growth. First-half pretax profit rose
9.4%
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/intercontinental-hotels-profit-raises-dividend-2017-08-08),
and the company, whose brands include Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza,
raised its interim dividend by 10%.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 08, 2017 12:27 ET (16:27 GMT)
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