FTSE edges down as retailers stumble and miners boom

Britain's leading share index was marginally down by 10.25 GMT on Thursday, dropping 0.1 per cent to reach 5941. With a 0.3 per cent rise seen in the previous session, the index has increased by 6 per cent from its low of the year so far on 15 March 2011 when it fell to 5591, mainly as a result of the disaster in Japan.

Chris Bradshaw
shareprices.com - Friday, April 01, 2011

Printable version email to a friend Subscribe to shareprices.com newsfeed

Banks yet again were one of the culprits in sending the index sinking, with eurozone debt problems very much back in the spotlight with Portugal and Ireland both causing investors concern.

Retailers were another sector continuing their downward spiral as the much-lauded Mothercare results brought disappointment and a warning that profits for 2011 may not be so robust as hoped. Peers Next and Kingfisher dropped as a result of the update, shedding 1.9 and 1.5 per cent respectively.

Analysts urged traders to save their money for stocks which incorporated global operations as those reliant solely on the UK for growth are seeing a bit of a stutter.

As if to prove the point, the miners had another good day of trading with Verdanta Resources adding 1 per cent as it waited for the deal on Cairn India to be formalised. Randgold Resources was another standout performer as it jumped 5.8 per cent as it announced that it expected production capacity for 2011 to be at least 70% higher than 2010.

Other market risers also included TUI Travel and ARM Holdings, both climbing by 1.3 per cent.

 

Latest News

FTSE 100 Latest

ValueChange
5,403.2898.80  % rise