Reuters: Hot Stocks: UK's FTSE falls after Fed officials talk of easing up on stimulus

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UK's FTSE falls after Fed officials talk of easing up on stimulus May 17th 2013, 08:26 Fri May 17, 2013 4:26am EDT * FTSE 100 down 0.1 percent * Intertek top faller on mineral business slowdown By Tricia Wright LONDON, May 17 (Reuters) - Britain's top share index fell on Friday, slipping further from 5-1/2-year highs, with investors jittery after U.S. central bank officials said the Federal Reserve could begin easing up its monetary stimulus this summer. The FTSE 100 was down 5.76 points, or 0.1 percent, at 6,682.04 by 0800 GMT, having slipped 0.1 percent on Thursday - to snap a 10-session winning streak - when weak data on the U.S. labour and housing markets dampened sentiment. "Even though the data suggests that the Fed aren't going to start tapering any time soon, the fact that there's such a debate about it is making people cautious," Michael Hewson, analyst at CMC Markets, said. Traders said markets were understandably jumpy as pledges of continued monetary stimulus from global central banks - especially the Fed and the European Central Bank - were the key driver of a 7.3 percent rise on the FTSE in the past month. However, even though technical momentum indicators such as the relative strength index show the FTSE 100 is in 'overbought' territory, they said any losses could be limited. "I think people are currently in 'buy the dips' mode," Nick Xanders, head of European equity strategy at BTIG, said. Craig Erlam, analyst at Alpari, reckoned Wednesday's low of 6,669 was the level at which buyers might be tempted back into the market, though a move below here might suggest a 'buy the dips' mentality would not hold in the run-up to the weekend. Atif Latif, director of trading at Guardian Stockbrokers, highlighted 6,534 as a level of support, while targeting 6,700. Intertek led the market lower on Friday, off 4.9 percent, in brisk trade, after the testing firm said a sharper-than-expected decline in demand for its minerals business would drag on its profit margin for the year. Trading volume in Intertek stood at 84 percent of its 90-day daily average after just an hour's trade, against the FTSE 100 on 13 percent. (Editing by Hugh Lawson) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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