The FTSE 100 is seen 0.1% lower today after closing flat yesterday.
Energy company Centrica (LON:CNA) led the blue chips with a 3.6% gain. Airline British Airways (LON:BAY) and bank Standard Chartered (LON:STAN) followed, climbing 2.2%. British American Tobacco (LON:BATS) and hedge fund manager Man Group (LON:EMG) tacked on 2%. Tour operator TUI Travel (LON:TT), insurer Standard Life (LON:SL), pharmaceutical companies Shire (LON:SHP) and GlaxoSmithKline (LON:GSK) added a little over 1%.
Chipmaker ARM Holdings (LON:ARM) was at the bottom of the pile with a 6% loss. Specialist banking group Investec (LON:INVP) slipped 5.6%. Turbine manufacturer Rolls-Royce (LON:RR) and commercial property company Segro (LON:SGRO) dropped 3%. Capital Shopping Centres Group (LON:CSCG), another property stock Hammerson (LON:HMSO) and oil and gas engineering firm Petrofac (LON:PFC) lost more than 2%. Insurer Old Mutual (LON:OML) and mobile perator Vodafone (LON:VOD) declined 2%.
US stocks closed in the red yesterday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 0.35%, the broader S&P 500 index and the technology heavy NASDAQ composite slipped 0.5%.
Asian markets were in selling mode today. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and South Korea’s KOSPI were flat, China’s Shanghai Composite Index slid 0.6%, Japan’s Nikkei 225 tumbled 2.1% and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.65%.
Commodities
Oil prices retreated following yesterday’s rally that saw US crude reach US$82/barrel. September Brent Crude stood at US$82.46/barrel, while US light, sweet crude for September delivery slid to US$82.14/barrel.
Precious metals were on the rise. Gold climbed to US$1,193/oz, while silver and platinum reached US$18.51/oz and US$1,585/oz respectively.
Base metals were in decline. Copper and nickel slid to US$3.31/lb and US$9.68/lb, while zinc dropped to US$0.92/lb.
The ISM non-manufacturing index and ADP employment figures are due out in the US today. The UK’s PMI composite and services indexes will also be out today.