FTSE back in the green as natural resource companies lift again
The index had gained 0.3% by the end of the day, with a 24-point rise taking it to 7,754.62.
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Your support makes all the difference.At the end of a less-than-stellar week, the FTSE 100 was back in the green on Friday as it was driven higher by a range of different companies, including the natural resources sector.
The top index in London had gained 0.3% by the end of the day, with a 24-point rise taking it to 7,754.62.
“It’s been a softish and subdued week for equity markets, with concerns about slowing global demand appearing to weigh on risk sentiment more broadly, although as we head into the weekend, we are seeing some modest gains on the day,” said CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson.
“Increasing concerns over slowing demand haven’t been helped by deflation in Chinese factory gate prices for the sixth month in a row earlier this week. This has seen copper prices hit their lowest levels this year, and oil prices on course for their fourth weekly decline in succession.”
The low metal prices had been a drag on the natural resources sector, but on Friday both Antofagasta and Glencore were back in positive territory.
As Wall Street markets also dipped – both the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones were trading down 0.4% – Mr Hewson said: “We’ve not been helped by the political theatre around the US debt ceiling which has dominated the discourse in the media, and where discussions have been pushed into next week.
“While the risks around this are well-rehearsed it could be argued that the risks appear somewhat overstated given how regularly we’ve seen this scenario play out over the last few years on a regular ‘rinse and repeat’ basis before a late compromise is sealed.”
In Europe, both France’s Cac 40 and Germany’s Dax indexes closed up 0.5%.
The pound dropped 0.4% to 1.246 dollars but rose by 0.2% to 1.147 euros.
It’s been a softish and subdued week for equity markets, with concerns about slowing global demand appearing to weigh on risk sentiment more broadly
In company news, shares in Royal Mail’s parent company dipped 1.5% after it announced that Simon Thompson would leave the company by the end of October.
Mr Thompson has led Royal Mail through a turbulent few years which has seen him become a target of union ire.
Just three weeks ago Royal Mail reached a deal with its main union to end a year of strikes, and Mr Thompson said that now was the time to hand over to give the company a fresh start.
In recent months Mr Thompson has also overseen a massive cybersecurity breach and been rebuked by MPs.
Shares in THG closed down 16.5% after the online retailer said that it had stopped talking to private equity company Apollo, which had been interested in buying the firm..
The company, formerly known as The Hut Group, said that there was “no longer any merit” in continuing the discussions.
Apollo approached the company last month, causing shares to soar 40%.
The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Airtel Africa, up 3.4p to 115.1p, Beazley, up 17.5p to 604p, JD Sports, up 4.65p to 173.25p, Persimmon, up 33.5p to 1,337.5p, and Compass Group, up 43p to 2,157p.
The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were British Land, down 10.9p to 371.1p, Ocado, down 11.6p to 441.4p, Diageo, down 85.0p to 3,534.5p, Prudential, down 25.5p to 1,156p, and Land Securities, down 11.6p to 614.4p.