Sapan Ghai, CCO at Sovereign Metals, discusses their superior graphite test results. Watch the video here.

Less Ads, More Data, More Tools Register for FREE

Pin to quick picksRDSA.L Share News (RDSA)

  • There is currently no data for RDSA

Watchlists are a member only feature

Login to your account

Alerts are a premium feature

Login to your account

London close: Stocks taper as sterling, commodity prices lose traction

Fri, 19th Aug 2016 16:08

(ShareCast News) - UK stocks whimpered to a lower close on Friday as sterling lost traction on renewed Brexit fears and commodity prices headed south.The spectre of the Lisbon Treaty's Article 50 rose once more, following a media report that claimed UK Prime Minister Theresa May was sympathetic to starting Britain's EU divorce by next April at the latest."The pound renewed its plunge into the red this Friday," said Spreadex financial analyst Connor Campbell in a note, referring to the media report. The ensuing pall saw sterling dive lower after lunch.At about 16:16 BST, sterling was down 0.49% to $130.884, down 0.8% to 1.3062 yen and lower 0.48% to €1.1542. Same time, gold faltered 0.59% to $1349.20 an ounce.Collectively, this dampened both the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250. Wall St was mostly lower, as were key indices in Europe.Miners fell after Glencore, also hurt by Macquarie cutting its view on the shares to 'neutral' from 'outperform,' albeit with a 200p target price, from 180p, ahead of its interims next weekKAZ Minerals nudged north as Credit Suisse upgraded the stock to 'outperform' from 'neutral' and lifted the price target to 250p from 165p, citing receding development risks.Otherwise, blue-chip home builders were notable among fallers, piloted by Taylor Wimpey, Persimmon and Barratt Developments on jitters surrounding the UK housing market's outlook."The big question," wrote IG's Josh Mahony, "is whether sterling's fall will also drive renewed foreign interest in UK housing, thus mitigating any fears of a crash in house prices."Overall, Mahony opined that it was clear the "overstretched nature of the FTSE means traders are happy to wait for another opportunity to buy the dips."Both in the UK and across the Atlantic, all eyes are on next week's Jackson Hole speech by US Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen, and pundits are already pondering what precisely that might bring."There is little space for manoeuvre, with any hawkish comment from Yellen likely to be seen through cynical eyes given the perception of can-kicking in 2016 to date," Mahony said.Against this backcloth oil prices were mixed much of the day, but, by about 16:31 BST, West Texas Intermediate had shed 0.31% to $48.07 a barrel as Brent had lost 0.9% to $50.43 a barrel. This spurred Shell and BP's respective share prices lower.On the economic front, UK public sector net borrowing hit a £1bn surplus in July, from £1.2bn a year ago, Office for National Statistics said. A surplus of £1.6bn was expected.German producer prices ticked higher in July, Destatis said. The index of producer prices for industrial products was up 0.2% after a 0.4% rise in June and May. A 0.1% rise was expected.Back to the stocks indices, other sectors heading south included pharmaceuticals, commercial property, consumer goods, leisure and utilities, among others.Centrica advanced as Barclays raised its target price from 240p to 245p with an 'equal weight' rating, and separately Legal & General continued to slide a day after going ex-dividend.EasyJet flew higher on rumours of a possible £16 a share takeover offer from private equity or founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou or a New York firm.William Hill shares jumped after Rank and 888 Holdings quit their bid plans late Thursday, investors also liking the bookie's full-year operating profit guidance hike.Market MoversFTSE 100 (UKX) 6,858.95 -0.15%FTSE 250 (MCX) 17,870.75 -0.00%techMARK (TASX) 3,513.30 0.14%FTSE 100 - RisersLloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 55.24p 2.54%easyJet (EZJ) 1,105.00p 2.50%Centrica (CNA) 237.00p 1.41%Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 194.50p 1.20%InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 3,365.00p 1.17%Sage Group (SGE) 735.50p 0.89%Mediclinic International (MDC) 1,099.00p 0.83%British American Tobacco (BATS) 4,868.50p 0.71%Shire Plc (SHP) 5,065.00p 0.70%London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) 2,889.00p 0.66%FTSE 100 - FallersGlencore (GLEN) 189.15p -3.59%Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 153.40p -2.48%BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,054.00p -1.95%Ashtead Group (AHT) 1,205.00p -1.95%Standard Chartered (STAN) 624.80p -1.65%Persimmon (PSN) 1,749.00p -1.58%Worldpay Group (WI) (WPG) 300.60p -1.44%Legal & General Group (LGEN) 205.90p -1.15%Antofagasta (ANTO) 564.50p -1.14%Anglo American (AAL) 870.00p -1.14%FTSE 250 - RisersKaz Minerals (KAZ) 194.60p 8.11%William Hill (WMH) 314.70p 3.83%esure Group (ESUR) 263.90p 2.80%Metro Bank (MTRO) 2,400.00p 2.78%PayPoint (PAY) 1,005.00p 2.66%Genus (GNS) 1,863.00p 2.64%Diploma (DPLM) 888.00p 2.54%Sophos Group (SOPH) 244.70p 2.51%Go-Ahead Group (GOG) 1,913.00p 2.46%Balfour Beatty (BBY) 260.00p 2.40%FTSE 250 - FallersIbstock (IBST) 165.90p -3.83%JRP Group (JRP) 86.00p -3.37%Cairn Energy (CNE) 203.40p -3.00%Tullow Oil (TLW) 234.00p -2.34%Pagegroup (PAGE) 346.70p -2.17%International Personal Finance (IPF) 270.00p -2.10%Evraz (EVR) 150.30p -2.08%Redefine International (RDI) 43.63p -1.96%Fidessa Group (FDSA) 2,511.00p -1.95%IG Group Holdings (IGG) 943.50p -1.67%
More News
27 Oct 2022 07:30

Shell announces $4bn share buyback as Q3 profits beat expectations

(Sharecast News) - Oil giant Shell announced a $4bn share buyback on Thursday as it posted better-than-expected third-quarter profits.

Read more
21 Apr 2022 11:53

Shell turning to China to offload Russian business - report

(Sharecast News) - Shell is reportedly looking to China as it looks to offload its Russian business.

Read more
15 Feb 2022 15:54

Shell preparing to sell North Sea gas fields - report

(Sharecast News) - Shell is reportedly preparing to launch the sale of its stakes in two clusters of gas fields in the southern British North Sea, part of an ongoing retreat of long-time producers from the ageing basin.

Read more
7 Feb 2022 10:52

Berenberg nudges up target price on Shell

(Sharecast News) - Analysts at Berenberg slightly raised their target price on oil and gas giant Shell from 2,350.0p to 2,375.0p on Monday, stating the firm was "on a roll".

Read more
31 Jan 2022 10:53

TOP NEWS SUMMARY: Shell and BHP share unifications go into effect

TOP NEWS SUMMARY: Shell and BHP share unifications go into effect

Read more
31 Jan 2022 07:48

LONDON MARKET PRE-OPEN: WeBuyAnyCar owner buys into Lookers

LONDON MARKET PRE-OPEN: WeBuyAnyCar owner buys into Lookers

Read more
28 Jan 2022 11:25

Shell's renewables boss steps down after less than two years

* Elisabeth Brinton leaves for new role, she says* Shell creates two new renewables leadership roles* Thomas Brostrøm to head renewables generation* Steve Hill to head energy marketingBy Ron BoussoLONDON, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Shell's head of renewable...

Read more
27 Jan 2022 16:14

UK earnings, trading statements calendar - next 7 days

UK earnings, trading statements calendar - next 7 days

Read more
26 Jan 2022 17:02

LONDON MARKET CLOSE: FTSE 100 soars ahead of Fed as oil, travel gain

LONDON MARKET CLOSE: FTSE 100 soars ahead of Fed as oil, travel gain

Read more
26 Jan 2022 14:36

China's Sinopec awards fewer cargoes in recent LNG tender

By Chen Aizhu and Marwa RashadSINGAPORE/LONDON, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Unipec, the oil and gas trading arm of China's Sinopec Corp has awarded fewer-than-planned cargoes in a recent tender to sell up to 45 cargoes of liquefied natural gas for 2022 del...

Read more
26 Jan 2022 12:16

LONDON MARKET MIDDAY: Markets brace for aggressive US Fed tightening

LONDON MARKET MIDDAY: Markets brace for aggressive US Fed tightening

Read more
26 Jan 2022 09:33

UPDATE 2-Commodity, bank stocks lead FTSE 100 higher; Playtech drops

* Oil and banking shares top gainers* Wizz Air reports Q3 loss, expects improvement in spring* FTSE 100 up 1.3%, FTSE 250 add 1.1% (Updates to market close)By Shashank Nayar and Ambar WarrickJan 26 (Reuters) - London's FTSE 100 rose on Wednesday wit...

Read more
26 Jan 2022 09:12

LONDON MARKET OPEN: Fresnillo drops on 2022 production warning

LONDON MARKET OPEN: Fresnillo drops on 2022 production warning

Read more
25 Jan 2022 21:13

UPDATE 1-U.S. awards 13 mln barrel exchange of crude from strategic reserve

(Adds details on sale, background on 50 million barrel SPR plan)WASHINGTON, Jan 25 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Energy said on Tuesday it had approved an exchange of 13.4 million barrels of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to ...

Read more
25 Jan 2022 20:10

U.S. awards exchange of 13 mln barrels of crude from strategic reserve

WASHINGTON, Jan 25 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Energy said on Tuesday it had approved an exchange of 13.4 million barrels of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to seven companies.The companies are Shell Trading US, 4.2 million ...

Read more

Login to your account

Don't have an account? Click here to register.

Quickpicks are a member only feature

Login to your account

Don't have an account? Click here to register.