FTSE stumbles over corporate results and commodity falls – London Report
BRITAIN’S top share index edged lower yesterday as a mixed set of corporate results and lingering concern over commodity price falls outweighed a rebound for gold-mining companies and a rally in car insurers.
The FTSE 100 index closed down 0.29 per cent at 6,769.07p after gaining 0.2 per cent in the previous session.
EasyJet was the worst-performing blue-chip, shedding 3.2 per cent after Commerzbank cut the low-cost airline’s price target to 1,550p from 1,700p.
Gold-miners Fresnillo – up 3.7 per cent – and Randgold, which gained two per cent, were among the top performers.
Both fell more than four per cent in the previous session after a slump in gold prices wiped out more than $8bn of the commodity mining sector’s equity market capitalisation.
Corporate results were mixed: shares of mid-cap IG Group dived 6.8 per cent after the financial trading platform reported a hit to full-year earnings from the Swiss franc’s fluctuations in January.