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Published 25 Apr, 2023 03:50pm

Miners, banks push FTSE 100 lower; Whitbread jumps

London’s FTSE 100 fell on Tuesday as weakness in copper prices and banking jitters dragged miners and lenders, while investors remained cautious ahead of major U.S. earnings this week.

Industrial miners (.FTNMX551020) lost 2.2%, tracking weakness in copper prices over lacklustre demand from top metal consumer China.

Banks (.FTNMX301010) shed 1.5%, picking up on weak sentiment for the sector after U.S. lender First Republic Bank’s deposits plunged by more than $100 billion in the first quarter.

The blue-chip index (.FTSE) fell 0.4% as of 0824 GMT, on course for its worst percentage drop in three weeks.

The FTSE 100 started the week on a tepid note, with markets in a wait-and-see mode to assess the impact of monetary tightening on the earnings of major U.S. companies.

“Markets (have) an increasing nervousness ahead of two key events; the tech earnings this week and the Federal Reserve meeting next Wednesday,” said Giles Coghlan, chief market analyst at HYCM.

“More investors are coming around to the fact that it (Fed) is likely to maintain higher interest rates and there is not a lot of enthusiasm for buying into stock markets with these big risk events just on the horizon.”

Whitbread Plc (WTB.L) added 3.9% after the Premier Inn owner reported its annual profit above pre-pandemic levels, lifting the travel and leisure sector (.FTNMX405010) up 0.4%.

The mid-cap FTSE 250 (.FTMC) was down 0.5%, with shares of Travis Perkins (TPK.L) down 2.5% after the building material supplier forecast weakness in new house building.

Associated British Foods (ABF.L) lost 6.0% following a 3% fall in first-half profit and cautioned about the resilience of consumer spending in the face of ongoing inflation.

Anglo American (AAL.L) reported a 9% rise in first-quarter production, helped by strong copper output from the ramp up of its Quellaveco mine. Its shares were, however, down 2.4%, in line with the broader market.

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