Reuters: Hot Stocks: FTSE hit by Syria concerns, energy stocks gain

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FTSE hit by Syria concerns, energy stocks gain Aug 28th 2013, 08:00 Wed Aug 28, 2013 4:00am EDT * FTSE 100 down 0.4 percent * Energy stocks gain on oil price rise * Ex-divs knock 2.3 points off index By Tricia Wright LONDON, Aug 28 (Reuters) - The prospect of military action against Syria pressured Britain's top share index on Wednesday in a broad-based sell-off, but it also drove the price of oil higher which had a positive knock-on effect on energy stocks. The FTSE 100 was down 26.43 points, or 0.4 percent, at 6,414.54 points by 0734 GMT. The index has fallen some 3 percent since mid-August, hit by concerns over a reduction in U.S. stimulus and the threat of a military attack on Syria. The United States and its allies appeared to be gearing up for a strike against Syria, fuelling concerns about Middle Eastern crude supply and pushing oil prices up to multi-month highs. "The market seems to be looking to trade down on a combination of profit-taking from the strong move into August and the news on Syria and contagion effects in the Middle East," said Atif Latif, director at Guardian stockbrokers. He said, nevertheless, that he would use the down-move as a buying opportunity. The oil price rise boosted energy stocks. Heavyweights BP and Royal Dutch Shell were among the top FTSE 100 risers, with respective gains of 1.1 percent and 0.8 percent. Otherwise, falls were seen across the board given a rising oil price increases costs for companies in a still-fragile economy. Airlines easyJet and IAG were left nursing drops of 3.3 percent and 2.7 percent. Later on Wednesday, Mark Carney is expected to use his first set-piece speech as Bank of England governor to take on doubters who question how long he can keep interest rates at a record low to help the UK economy continue its recovery. GFT Markets technical analyst Fawad Razaqzada sounded a note of caution about the UK benchmark, which failed to break above key resistance at 6,500 last week, and "until this is put right, the path of least resistance remains on the downside". He said the index looks like it is heading towards last week's low of around 6,386 and a break below this level would expose the 200-day moving average, now at 6,313. Stocks trading without the attraction of their latest dividend, including CRH, Glencore Xstrata and Legal & General, took 2.3 points off the FTSE 100 on Wednesday. (Reporting by Tricia Wright; Editing by Hugh Lawson) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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