The FTSE 100 is projected to rise 0.2% today after declining 0.35% on Thursday. The Labor Department said yesterday that US jobless claims rose 13,000 to 462,000 last week.
Anglo-Swiss miner Xstrata led the blue chips with a 3.2% gain. Specialty chemicals firm Johnson Matthey (LON:JMAT) followed, rising 2.7%. Another major base metal miner Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) and silver producer Fresnillo (LON:FRES) added nearly 2.5%. Defence contractor Cobham (LON:COB) rose 2%, while mobile operator Vodafone (LON:VOD), chipmaker ARM Holdings (LON:ARM) and security services firm G4S (LON:GFS) tacked on about 1.5%.
African Barrick Gold (LON:ABG) was the heaviest faller in the FTSE 100 with a 9,5% decline. Royal Bank of Scotland (LON:RBS) retreated 4.7%, while Sector peers Barclays (LON:BARC) and Lloyds (LON:LLOY) lost 4% and 3% respectively. Software developer Autonomy Corp (LON:AU) lost 2.5%. Publisher Reed Elsevier (LON:REL), hedge fund manager Man Group (LON:EMG) and fashion house Burberry (LON:BRBY) were down 2%.
US stocks trimmed losses at the end of the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed flat, while the S&P 500 index lost 0.35% and the technology heavy NASDAQ composite declined 0.25%.
Asian shares were mixed today. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng retreated 0.45%, Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 1.1% and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 posted a small loss, while South Korea’s KOSPI rose marginally and China’s Shanghai Composite Index rallied 2.9%.
Commodities
Oil prices moved higher. November Brent Crude rose to US$84.25/barrel, while US light, sweet crude for November delivery reached US$82.78/barrel.
Gold pulled back after posting new record highs, moving down to US$1,380/oz. Platinum followed, declining to US$1,707/oz and silver rose to US$24.74/oz.
Base metals rose. Copper and nickel moved up to US$3.81/lb and US$11.09/lb, while zinc rose to US$1.088/lb.
Updates on US retail sales, the Empire State manufacturing index and the University of Michigan consumer sentiment index are due out today.