LONDON (ShareCast) – Mining (LSE: MIR.L – news) stocks were trading firmly in the red as iron ore prices were headed for their sixth consecutive monthly decline, the longest losing streak on record.
Meanwhile, concerns about a slowdown in China were also having an impact on stocks, as well as a profit warning from FTSE 250-listed Fenner (LSE: FENR.L – news) , which makes conveyor belts for the mining industry.
Anglo American (LSE: AAL.L – news) , Rio Tinto (Xetra: 855018 – news) , BHP Billiton (NYSE: BBL – news) , Fresnillo (Other OTC: FNLPF – news) , Randgold Resources (Dusseldorf: RGR1.DU – news) , Antofagasta (Other OTC: ANFGF – news) , and Glencore were all in the bottom 10.
Rising iron ore supplies from Australia and Brazil have prompted a 9% fall in prices this month, with the value of the commodity having now fallen every month since December. This is the longest string of monthly losses since data from The Steel Index began in November 2008, according to Bloomberg.
DIY retailer Kingfisher (LSE: KGF.L – news) was continuing to fall after an underwhelming first-quarter statement yesterday as Barclays Capital cut the shares to ‘equal weight’ and trimmed its target price.
Morrisons declined from decent gains in yesterday’s session when it was lifted by a reiteration of its ‘buy’ rating from Cantor Fitzgerald.
Meanwhile, medical device maker Smith & Nephew (LSE: SN.L – news) continued to soar as bid speculation continued to drive the stock higher. While US peer Stryker (Berlin: SYK.BE – news) was forced to publicly deny reports that it was working on a bid for the company, its boss yesterday confirmed in an interview that the company had in fact been in the early stages of considering a transaction but was not ready to make an offer. UBS (Xetra: UB0BL6 – news) this morning added the stock to its ‘M&A Watch List’.
Whitbread (LSE: WTB.L – news) rose on the back of a reiteration of its ‘buy’ rating from Societe Generale (Paris: FR0000130809 – news) .
FTSE 100 – Risers
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,049.00p +1.94%
Admiral Group (LSE: ADM.L – news) (ADM) 1,455.00p +1.89%
Sainsbury (Berlin: SUY1.BE – news) (J) (SBRY) 346.80p +1.82%
Whitbread (Frankfurt: WHF4.F – news) (WTB) 4,186.00p +1.16%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 447.60p +1.08%
Sports Direct International (Other OTC: SDISY – news) (SPD) 800.50p +0.95%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 2,352.00p +0.90%
Diageo (Berlin: GUI.BE – news) (DGE) 1,921.00p +0.87%
Land Securities Group (LAND) 1,071.00p +0.85%
St James’s Place (STJ) 786.50p +0.83%
FTSE 100 – Fallers
Anglo American (AAL) 1,473.50p -4.63%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,076.50p -3.51%
BHP Billiton (BLT (Shenzhen: 300246.SZ – news) ) 1,880.50p -3.09%
Fresnillo (Berlin: FNL.BE – news) (FRES) 809.50p -3.05%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 4,381.00p -2.47%
Antofagasta (LSE: ANTO.L – news) (ANTO) 792.00p -1.55%
Glencore (GLEN) 323.25p -1.52%
Royal Mail (Other OTC: ROYMF – news) (RMG (Brussels: ROU.BR – news) ) 510.50p -1.45%
Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 199.30p -1.43%
Shire Plc (LSE: SHP.L – news) (SHP) 3,407.00p -1.39%
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