FTSE dips after weak trading from mining stocks
London’s top index moved 0.13%, or 9.58 points, lower to finish at 7,544.89.
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Your support makes all the difference.The FTSE 100 finished slightly lower as weakness from mining firms dragged on the index.
Stocks in London recovered some ground later in the session after weak morning trading but still finished in the red amid concerns over the global economy.
London’s top index moved 0.13%, or 9.58 points, lower to finish at 7,544.89.
Elsewhere in Europe, the Dax index was 0.21% higher for the day at the close and the Cac 40 closed up 0.33%.
Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK, said: “It’s been a relatively subdued start to what is set to be a busy week of central bank rate meetings, with the FTSE 100 underperforming on the back of weakness in the basic resource sector.
“The latest inflation numbers out of China showed that the world’s second biggest economy post its biggest decline in headline CPI for three years in a sign that the economy is slipping into deflation.
“These concerns over weak demand are weighing on the likes of Glencore, Rio Tinto and the rest of the mining sector, as iron ore prices decline.”
Stateside, the Dow Jones opened a touch higher in a subdued start to the week.
Meanwhile, sterling edged higher at the start of a key week for the economy, as expectations over interest rate cuts have been pared back in recent days.
The pound was up O.01% at 1.254 US dollars and was 0.16% higher at 1.167 euros at market close in London.
In company news, Rolls-Royce was one of the FTSE’s top performers after the aerospace engineering firm was buoyed by another broker upgrade.
Citigroup raised its target price on the stock from 294p to 431p, after UBS and Deutsche Bank improved their target prices for the firm late last week.
Shares in Rolls-Royce finished Monday’s session up 7.6p at 296.9p as a result.
Elsewhere, Begbies Traynor shares also finished in the green after a rise in the number of companies going bust in the UK proved positive for the restructuring specialists.
The company warned that its insolvency division will continue to get more business in the months to follow, as it benefits from the challenging economic backdrop.
It saw shares increase by 0.25p to 113.5p at the close.
Pawnbrokers H&T Group dropped in value after analysts said the firm was set to face pressure from higher wage costs next year.
Shore Capital said the increase in the National Living Wage in April is expected to drive higher costs, with the analysts reducing their profit forecast for 2024 as a result. Shares fell 41p to 427p.
The price of oil inched back after a gain on Friday, as traders were again cautious over worries about demand in China.
A barrel of Brent crude fell by 0.15% to 75.73 US dollars (£60.35) as markets were closing in London.
The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were JD Sports, up 5.65p to 172.6p, Rolls-Royce, up 7.6p to 296.9p, Hargreaves Lansdown, up 16.8p to 765.2p, Marks & Spencer, up 4.8p to 265p, and Next, up 140p to 8,142p.
The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were Glencore, down 18.1p to 439.3p, Centrica, down 5.7p to 143.75p, Endeavour Mining, down 60p to 1,700p, Standard Chartered, down 13p to 647p, and Rio Tinto, down 99p to 5,484p.