Anglo American’s share price drags down the FTSE 100 again
Miners opened higher this morning, but the rally was short-lived, with some of the UK's commodity giants dragging the FTSE 100 into the red by mid-morning.
The UK's top blue-chip index was 0.34 per cent down at 6,114 points in mid-morning trade.
Anglo American dropped for the second day in a row, plunging 11 per cent to 288.1p per share this morning, after the company said it would not be paying a dividend for the second half of 2015 or in 2016. The firm also said that its workforce, which currently stands at around 135,000, would be slashed to as low as 95,000 by the end of 2016.
Fresnillo wasn't far behind, down 8.1 per cent to 614.5p per share. The company also released a statement today stating there was a leak of water and chemicals at its gold and silver mine in Mexico.
Meanwhile, Glencore was down three per cent to 77.1p per share, and Antofagasta was 3.24 per cent lower 428p per share. BHP Billiton was less sharply down by 0.51 per cent to 719.5p per share.
Conversely Ashtead Group led the risers, up 7.57 per cent to 1,109.5p per share after reporting strong second quarter results, which boosted the company's half year profits.
The equipment rental company posted first half revenue growth of 18 per cent, driven by the strong second quarter.
In the FTSE 250, Entertainment One's share price recovered some losses made yesterday, rising 10.01 per cent to 155.3p, after responding to yesterday's sell off.
"Entertainment One notes the movement in its share price and can confirm that the company continues to trade in line with full year group underlying earnings expectations," it said in a statement to the London Stock Exchange today.