Reuters: Hot Stocks: UK stocks slip back in thin post-holiday trade

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UK stocks slip back in thin post-holiday trade Dec 27th 2012, 09:03 Thu Dec 27, 2012 4:03am EST * FTSE 100 down 0.1 percent, limping towards year-end * U.S. fiscal cliff news awaited * Miners gain with copper price after China data By Jon Hopkins LONDON, Dec 27 (Reuters) - Britain's top share index slipped back in early trade on Thursday as traders returned to work after a two-day festive break, tracking overnight falls on Wall Street, with all eyes staying on key U.S. budget talks. Major tax hikes and spending cuts known as the "fiscal cliff" will come into force on Jan. 1 unless the White House and Democrat-controlled Senate and the Republican-run House of Representatives reach a budget deal to avoid an abrupt economic slowdown. "The fiscal cliff remains at the forefront of investor focus, with little progress being seen. Until there is a resolution, the final sessions of 2012 are unlikely to really take off," said Mike Mason, a senior trader at Sucden Financial Private Clients. At 0834 GMT, the FTSE 100 index was down 6.22 points, or 0.1 percent at 5,947.96. The UK blue chip index closed 0.2 percent higher after its half-day session on Monday, Christmas Eve buoyed by gains in banks and commodity stocks. Gains by miners helped limit the blue chip falls on Thursday after copper prices rose to a one-week high following data which showed strong corporate profits in the world's top copper consumer China. Profits earned by China's industrial companies jumped 22.8 percent in November from a year earlier, accelerating from October's 20.5 percent, data from Beijing showed. . Retailers were in focus as employee-owned John Lewis reported a strong increase in sales in the week leading up to Christmas, boosted by online orders as internet shopping accounts for an ever growing slice of Britain's retail spend. Sales in the week to Dec. 22 at the country's biggest department store group rose 26.5 percent to 157.8 million pounds compared with last year. Its website broke its daily sales record with 7.8 million pounds on Dec. 17. Clothing retailer Next, which next week kicks off the sector's post-Christmas trading updates, gained 0.1 percent, but rival Marks & Spencer fell 0.2 percent. Technical analysis of the FTSE 100 index, however, remained mixed. "Although there has been a short-term set-back, there will remain an upward bias unless the support line near 5,931.00 is violated. In this case, the market may accelerate to the downside," James A.Hyerczyk, analyst at Autochartist said. No important British economic data will be released on Thursday so investors will eye a batch of U.S. pointers in the afternoon session. Weekly U.S. initial jobless claims are due at 1330 GMT, while December U.S. consumer confidence and November U.S. new home sales numbers are scheduled for 1500 GMT. (Reporting by Jon Hopkins) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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