Mining giants bounce back to push up FTSE 100 – London Report
The FTSE 100 ended yesterday’s session slightly higher, boosted by gains in mining companies and Marks and Spencer.
The UK’s blue-chip index ended the day 0.46 per cent up at 6,412 points.
The day’s biggest riser was Glencore, the embattled mining giant, which has been struggling to reassure investors worried about the size of its debt pile. It yesterday announced a debt reduction target and restated its guidance for the company’s more profitable trading division. Its share price rose 5.36 per cent during the day.
“Given how heavily they’ve fallen and then subsequently rallied thereafter, we still think they represent good value alongside some other picks in the mining sector,” said Atif Latif, director of trading at Guardian Stockbrokers.
Anglo American also rose 3.06 per cent, while BHP Billiton gained 1.09 per cent and Fresnillo was up 1.24 per cent. Rio Tinto’s share price rose 1.09 per cent.
Supermarket Morrisons was the day’s second largest winner as it share price rose 3.51 per cent.
M&S also rose, despite having reported it recorded another period of declines in its general merchandise division. However, top line figures suggested a slight improvement in performance as earnings per share climbed 4.9 per cent to 14.1p. It’s share price rose 2.5 per cent.
Investec reiterated its “buy” rating on M&S’ stock, along with a note that said: “Not the easiest of halves given the weather, but the increased flexibility in M&S’ business model stands out.”
However, property players were down again, with Taylor Wimpey, Berkeley Group Holdings, Persimmon and Barratt Developments all among the top five losers, shedding 4.16 per cent, 3.38 per cent, 3.32 per cent and 2.47 per cent of their values respectively.
FTSE 100-listed builder Persimmon reported a 12 per cent sales hike in the third quarter – but shares continued to slide after the sector had a spot of bother with a broker on Tuesday.
Concerns over a possible interest rate hikes and high valuations in the industry have been blamed for the falls. In the mid-cap FTSE 250, Countrywide lost 11.2 per cent of its share price value during the session, after the company issued a shock profits warning, blaming a slowdown in the housing market.