Reuters: Hot Stocks: Britain's FTSE dips as "ex-div" firms take shine off upbeat economic news

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Britain's FTSE dips as "ex-div" firms take shine off upbeat economic news Aug 14th 2013, 14:54 Wed Aug 14, 2013 10:54am EDT * FTSE 100 index falls 0.1 percent * Encouraging UK, euro zone data limit losses * Mining shares fall, ENRC results disappoint * Flurry of ex-dividend shares hits index By Atul Prakash LONDON, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Britain's top share index edged lower on Wednesday, with losses for companies going ex-dividend offsetting the impact of positive economic data, which lifted banks. Kazakh miner ENRC, down 2.6 percent, was among the top fallers on the FTSE 100 after announcing a steeper-than-expected drop in first-half profit, while global miner Rio Tinto fell 1.4 percent after going ex-dividend. Other firms that traded without their latest dividend and featured among the top decliners included AstraZeneca, Anglo American, Pearson, Royal Dutch Shell and Standard Chartered. AstraZeneca, down 1.9 percent, took the most points off the FTSE, while the rest fell by between 1.0 percent and 1.6 percent. Weaker "ex-div" companies derailed a broader rally in the market that could otherwise have risen after encouraging economic data, which underpinned cyclicals such as banks and industrials. The UK banking index rose 0.5 percent. "The concentration of companies going ex-divs today has taken the shine off the good macroeconomic numbers coming out of the euro zone and the UK today," James Butterfill, global equity strategist at Coutts, said. "There is no doubt that both the UK and the euro zone economies are still very fragile, but recent economic numbers have been very encouraging and should support the market going forward. There is a greater investment case for smaller, more domestically focused businesses rather than big exporters." Sentiment towards cyclical stocks improved after data showed stronger growth in Germany and France helped the euro zone to emerge from its longest recession in the second quarter, while a sharp fall in UK jobless benefit claims in July pointed to a strengthening labour market. The FTSE 100 was down 8.41 points, or 0.1 percent at 6,603.53 by 1438 GMT, with volumes only 49 percent of the 90-day daily average as a lot of traders were away from their desks in the traditional summer holiday period. The FTSE 100 is stuck in the middle of its recent trading range, where support has been seen at about 6,500 and resistance at around 6,680 - something analysts say could play out for the rest of the month. "It's not easy to see what's going to push the FTSE-100 out of its latest range," Charles Stanley analyst Bill McNamara said. "Some upside looks possible in the near term, but it's not easy to make a case for buying it up here." (Additional reporting by Tricia Wright; Editing by Susan Fenton) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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