FTSE falls as miners suffer with defensive stocks supporting
The top share index in the UK suffered its biggest day of falls in nearly six weeks, as after trading flat as the week opened, Tuesday saw the FTSE 100 index dropping 1 per cent by lunchtime, hitting 5995 by 11.13 GMT.
Chris Bradshaw
shareprices.com - Tuesday, April 12, 2011
The miners were one of the big casualties of the day as the results from Alcoa, the aluminium making giant, fell far short of its target, surprising many who had predicted the firm to perform well in the first quarter of the year. Adding to the miners woes was the deepening nuclear problems within Japan, sending the price of copper tumbling and the ongoing earthquake aftershocks also delaying the rebuilding programme and sending fears about demand through the metals market.
As appetite for risk waned, market moved into defensive stoxks with Shire, GlaxoSmithKline and AstraZeneca, pharmaceutical firms star performers of the day, climbing 1.1, 0.8 and 0.9 per cent. GlaxoSmithKline also benefitted from a broker review, describing the stock as encouraging and suggesting there was plenty of upside still left in the price.
The retailers were back in negative territory as the latest figures released by the British Retail Consortium showed that sales figures dropped by the largest margins in six years during March, a fact pinned on rising inflation and low growth in the economy. Marks and Spencer saw its price drop by 0.2 per cent whilst peer Next shed 0.3 per cent.
As the price of crude oil showed yet further volatility and dropping from close to three year peak prices on Monday, travel firms International Consolidated Airlines and cruise operator Carnival both climbed by 3.1 cent, heading up the leader board for the day.
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