By Patrick Munnelly, Market Strategist, Tickmill
On Monday, the UK’s FTSE 100 saw a modest decline of -0.13%, with mining stocks leading the drop following a fall in metal prices. Investors are anticipating a series of central bank meetings and economic data releases scheduled for this week.
The industrial metal mining sector witnessed a decline of 1% on the drop in prices of several base metals, mainly caused by the strengthening of the dollar. Iron ore prices fell while a decline in gold prices led to a 2.3% decrease in precious metal miners.
Endeavour Mining and Glencore hit by China economic data
Both Endeavour Mining [LON:EDV] -3.4% and Glencore LON:GLEN -4% shares fell, languishing at or near the bottom of the Index. Mining companies saw a decline following the release of data suggesting that China’s economy is experiencing a deeper contraction and entering a period of deflation. The economic indicators from China likely had a negative impact on commodity prices, affecting mining companies that are sensitive to fluctuations in global economic conditions.
Citi raises target price for Rolls-Royce
On the positive side of the ledger Rolls-Royce LON:RR. experienced a surge in its stock price after Citi raised its price target for the company’s shares from 294p to 431p, sending the companies shares to the top of the blue chip index with a gain of 2.6%. This was due to an increase in earnings per share forecasts by 27% in the short term and 52% in the long term, as well as strong cash generation. Citi expects that working capital unwind will aid cash flow in the near term, with sustained free cash flow of over 30p per share in the medium term, rising to 38p by 2028, which should be reflected in the company’s valuation.
The focus now shifts to major central banks, including the Bank of England (BoE), U.S. Federal Reserve, and European Central Bank, as they are set to reveal their monetary policy decisions in the coming week.
Podcast: Everything you need to know about the FTSE 100 Index
Subscribe to our podcast on your favourite platform
Don’t miss out on our weekly podcast. You can find us on Spotify, Soundcloud, Amazon, Apple, YouTube and many other popular platforms