Reuters: Hot Stocks: UK shares edge lower as commodity stocks hit by demand concerns

Reuters: Hot Stocks Reuters.com is your source for breaking news, business, financial and investing news, including personal finance and stocks. Reuters is the leading global provider of news, financial information and technology solutions to the world's media, financial institutions, businesses and individuals. // via fulltextrssfeed.com

UK shares edge lower as commodity stocks hit by demand concerns Nov 21st 2012, 12:45 Wed Nov 21, 2012 7:45am EST * FTSE 100 index falls 0.1 * Johnson Matthey and copper price hit Materials * Trade seen as rangebound after Monday's big gains * Utilities receive regulator boost By Alistair Smout LONDON, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Britain's top share index edged lower on Wednesday, with heavily weighted miners hit by concerns over global demand, although trade was in tight ranges ahead of a U.S. public holiday. By 1128 GMT, the FTSE 100 index was down 0.1 percent at 5,744.18 points, with commodity-related stocks accounting for all of the 3.92 point fall in the index. The sector contained the index's top faller, precious metals and commodity company Johnson Matthey, which fell 6.4 percent after cautioning over an outlook dented by weakness in both the United States and Europe. The stock traded in heavy volume of 130 percent of its average 90 day volume, compared to a mere 25.2 percent average across the index. Miners overall lost 0.7 percent as as growth worries hit commodity prices, with the copper price also falling 0.7 percent. "Outlooks have been cautious, generally, while results have been roughly in line. So I think going forward, people are somewhat sceptical about economic growth, and how that's going to impact on the bottom line," said Jack Pollard, analyst at Sucden Financial Private Clients. A two-day rally on Wall St was halted on Tuesday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke admitted the U.S. central bank could not save the United States from recession if its "fiscal cliff" is not resolved. Greece's international lenders were meanwhile unable to agree on an aid package for the country, another reminder for investors of the challenges that remain for global growth. European finance ministers will meet again on Greece on Monday, while the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday is seen as capping price moves and volumes, leaving the UK market rangebound until next week. "It appears from the price action we've seen early on that we're stuck in a tight range, probably until Monday, with the Thanksgiving holiday coming," said Clive Lambert, technical analyst at FuturesTechs. "From a technical point of view, we had a very strong session on Monday, following on from a rejection of the downside on Friday. But the price action of yesterday and today is quite uninspiring, and it doesn't look like we're going to head back up towards 5,900." UK stocks dropped 3 percent last week but their losses were mostly reversed on Monday in the joint biggest single session rise of the year. The FTSE 100 index tested support at the 200-day moving average early on Monday, but did not drop below the key 5,726 level. Utilities also lent support to the index. United Utilities led the FTSE 100 gainers with a 2.3 percent rise after a clarification by sector regulators struck a more concilatory tone. "The softening of Ofwat's stance on a Competition Commission referral reduces the near-term risk of negative newsflow and highlights how important a consensus driven outcome is to this process," JPMorgan said in a note. (Additional reporting by David Brett; Editing by Catherine Evans) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions