Mixed day for FTSE 100 stocks as commodity prices tumble

A sharp drop in morning trading sent the FTSE 100 index down, by midday the index traded lower by 0.55 per cent at 5,321. Whilst miners and energy stocks are posting steep losses some stocks are doing well, including Intertek and Inmarsat.

Chris Bradshaw
shareprices.com - Wednesday, August 18, 2010

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Investors remain concerned about economic growth prospects. This sentiment is prompting a sell-off in banking stocks while commodity prices are moving down, pushing mining stocks in a downwards direction.

Heavy-weight mining stocks dominate the bottom of the list. Eurasian Natural Resources, Fresnillo, BHP Billiton, Anglo American and Lonmin are all down between 2.9 per cent and 1.3 per cent. Energy stocks BP and Shell moved down by 1.3 and 0.75 per cent respectively.

Banks are also experiencing pressure, with HSBC Holdings down 1.7 per cent and Standard Chartered down 0.5 per cent.

However a number of stocks are posting substantial gains. Intertek is up 5 per cent so far. The rise in its share price was prompted by news that the stock may be included in the MSCI world stock index.

Inmarsat however beat Intertek's performance to the top of the list, gaining 7.5 per cent in today's trading. In addition to an announcement earlier this month that the satellite communications company will be investing over $1 billion in new satellites it has today announced that it will be collaborating with LightSquared on a spectrum sharing agreement, triggering payments of over $300 million.

Other stocks that are performing well include Legal & General Group up 3.22 per cent, Wolseley up 1.95 per cent and British Airways up 1.9 per cent.

 

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