By Patrick Munnelly, Market Analyst, Tickmill
The FTSE 100 is lower on the day, down 21 points at the end of the session, finishing on 7891.13.
FTSE-100 biggest movers
Industrial miners continue to melt in line with Copper prices which continue to drag on the sector,. Glencore LON:GLEN sits at the bottom of the table nursing losses of 3.5%+ followed by Rio Tinto LON:RIO 3%+ and Anglo American LON:AAL 3%+, Anglo has traded lower in sympathy with the sector even though the miner announced that first quarter production advanced by 9% aided by robust copper output from its Quellaveco mine.
Associated British Foods LON:ABF has also had a tough day, shedding over 4% on the session as the Primark parent reported a 3% decline in profits while maintaining a flat guidance for the remainder of the fiscal year.
Ahead of UK bank earnings, investors have pared some risk exposure, Standard Chartered LON:STAN -1.8% and NatWest LON:NWG -2.4%, are both down after the US banking crisis poster child First Republic issued earnings below market expectations, highlighting continued customer deposit outflows of over $100 billion in the first quarter as an ongoing concern.
On the positive side of the ledger Whitbread LON:WTB sits at the top of table with gains of just shy of 5% on the session. Shareholders cheered the Premier Inn owners return to pre pandemic profit levels boosted by strong demand for accommodation.
Manufacturing data provides some relief
On the fundamental front, there was some marginal relief for manufacturers as UK Confederation of British Industry’s industrial trends order book data posted an unchanged figure at -20 for April, in line with market expectations, The business optimism component of index for manufacturers crept higher to -2 for the second quarter, advancing from the -5 level seen in the prior quarter.
