FTSE 100 holds firm under pressure
FTSE 100 holds firm under pressure
Thursday 23rd October 2008
The FTSE 100 closed up 1.16 per cent today to 4,087.83 on a day marked by further global sell-offs.On a day that looked like the index was heading to a fall, a rally on Wall Street pulled London out of the red.
At 12:01 EDT (17:01 BST) the Dow was up 2.06 per cent.
In Europe the Dax closed down 1.12 per cent, while the Cac 40 was up 0.38 per cent.
In London, it was the miners that pulled the index down.
Precious metal producer Fresnillo dropped 15.01 per cent, while Xstrata fell 8.99 per cent, Kazakhmys was down 7.27 per cent and BHP Billiton lost 6.48 per cent.
Insurer Old Mutual fell 8.51 per cent.
While miners dropped, oil performed well in anticipation of an emergency Opec meeting tomorrow which is expected to cut supply.
Royal Dutch Shell A and B were up 5.21 per cent and 4.95 per cent respectively. BP gained 5.03 per cent.
Legal & General rose 5.51 per cent and Reckitt Benckiser was up 5.27 per cent.
David Jones, chief market strategist at IG Index, said: "Most of today saw the UK under pressure, with the FTSE 100 well below the 4,000 mark.
"Once again weakness in commodities weighed on the market. This is probably a story we are going to continue hear as the economic slowdown continues - with the likes of oil, copper and gold still very weak it seems unlikely the mining sector is going to stage a meaningful recovery anytime soon."
However, Mr Jones was able to glean some positivity.
"The one positive so far is that these markets have continued to hold above the recent lows set earlier in October," he said.
"As long as this remains the case it does look as if the worst could be behind us, at least in the short term, for stock markets. It doesn’t mean that the only way is up for shares from here – but as long as dips below 4,000 on the FTSE continue to bring the buyers back out it looks like investors can be spared the stomach churning ,near-vertical drops that we saw at the beginning of October."
Related News
FTSE 100 down 2% into lunch - 23/10/08
The FTSE 100 failed to hold onto its position this morning as global falls of the stock markets and poor UK data brought the index down
The FTSE 100 failed to hold onto its position this morning as global falls of the stock markets and poor UK data brought the index down
Mandelson and Darling push banks on lending - 23/10/08
Alistair Darling and Lord Mandelson meet bank chiefs today to push for greater lending to small businesses
Alistair Darling and Lord Mandelson meet bank chiefs today to push for greater lending to small businesses
High street sales growth drops - 23/10/08
The annual retail growth rate has fallen to its lowest level in two-and-a-half years as the High street slowdown continues
The annual retail growth rate has fallen to its lowest level in two-and-a-half years as the High street slowdown continues
FTSE 100 holds steady in recession headwinds - 23/10/08
The FTSE 100 opened with a drop but bounced back to hold its value
The FTSE 100 opened with a drop but bounced back to hold its value
News Article Search
Quick Apply
News Archive