Overview: the FTSE 100 is seen opening about 0.5% lower after the US stocks went sharply down late in the day on Thursday ahead of the government’s report on November unemployment figures, which is due today. The financial stocks led the retreat on Wall Street, while the material and energy sectors followed.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 0.8%, as did the broader S&P 500 index, while the technology heavy Nasdaq composite slid 0.5% after making gains earlier in the session.
Asian markets switched to selling mode after the late slip in the US with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng sliding 1.4% and China’s Shanghai composite index inched 0.2% lower. However, Japan’s Nikkei average cleared the 10,000 mark today as exporters surged on a weaker yen.
Oil prices inched lower as January Brent Crude slid to US$78.25/barrel and US light, sweet crude for January delivery declined to US$76.28/barrel.
Precious metals recouped some of their yesterday’s losses with gold climbing to US$1,209/oz, while silver and platinum reached US$18.88/oz and US$1,485/oz respectively.
Base metals took a different path with copper and nickel retreating to US$3.20/lb and US$7.20/lb respectively, while zinc fell to US$1.07/lb.
The FTSE 100 was in decline yesterday, shedding 0.3% late in the session after staying around the opening level for the better part of the day.
Financial stocks were buoyant with part-nationalised banks RBS (LSE: RBS) and Lloyds (LSE: LLOY) emerging as the top performers in the index with gains of about 4.5%, while insurer Legal & General (LSE: LGEN) also made it to the top three with a 4% advance.
Other notable risers included software developer Sage Group (LSE: SGE) and airline British Airways (LSE: BAY), which advanced 2%, as well as hospitality companies InterContinental Hotels (LSE: IHG) and Whitbread (LSE: WTB), which tacked on more than 1.5%, as did commercial property company Land Securities Group (LSE: LAND).
The biggest fallers included miners Xstrata (LSE: XTA) and Rio Tinto (LSE: RIO), which lost more than 3%, software company Autonomy Corporation (LSE: AU), investor Resolution (LSE: RSL) and mobile operator Vodafone (LSE: VOD), which lost more than 2%.