FTSE slides as metal prices decline

Tuesday, 13 April 2010 10:55

By myfinances.co.uk staff

The FTSE 100 lost 20.3 points, or 0.4 per cent, to 5,757.35 in early trading led by a retreat in mining companies as copper fell from a 20-month high on the London Metal Exchange.

Antofagasta, Xstrata and Vedanta Resources all lost more than 1 per cent as a cooling in Chinese bank lending stoked concern about reduced demand for metal. Kingfisher paced advancing shares on the FTSE 100 Index after the value of British retail sales climbed last month.

Antofagasta, which owns copper mines in Chile, fell 2.5 per cent to 1,019p as copper lost as much as 1 per cent to $7,823 a metric ton in London. Nickel, tin, lead and zinc also fell.

Xstrata also slid 1.4 per cent to 1,264.5p and Vedanta Resources lost 1.9 per cent to 2,860p.

Chinese banks extended a less-than-estimated 510.7 billion yuan ($74.8 billion) of new loans in March after the central bank told lenders to set aside bigger reserves and pace credit growth. Record lending in 2009 helped spur a surge in metals imports the same year.

Kingfisher, Europe's largest home-improvement retailer, climbed 1.9 per cent to 236.8p. Next, the UK's second- biggest clothing retailer, increased 1.6 per cent to 2,339p. Home Retail Group added 1.5 per cent to 298.6p.

Retail sales rose 4.4 per cent last month from a year earlier at stores open at least 12 months, compared with a 1.2 per cent drop in the same month in 2009, a British Retail Consortium survey released today showed. The increase was the most in 11 months.

Separately, Debenhams slid 1.2 per cent to 77.45p. The UK's second-largest department-store chain today said it expects "broadly neutral" trading conditions after first-half profit beat analysts' estimates.

Net income fell to £80.1 million from £81.2 million a year earlier, after a higher taxation charge.

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