30th Aug 2013 16:11
LONDON (Alliance News) - London's main equities indices all closed down Friday, as the FTSE 100 posted a loss for a fourth consecutive week, falling to GBP6,412.93 from Tuesday's open of GBP6492.1, down 1.2%.
The FTSE 250 closed down at GBP14,625.18, or 0.8% on the day, with the AIM All-Share also lower, down 0.1% at GBP752.61.
Prior to market open, the housing market continued to benefit from low rates as the Nationwide House Price Index showed an 0.6% increase in prices month-on-month for August, a slight slowdown from the 0.9% rise in June but in line with expectations.
UK mortgage approval data also showed an increase: 60,624 new mortgages were approved in July, beating expectations of 59,000. Approvals are now at their highest level since March 2008. Net lending for July was GBP0.7 billion, against a forecast of GBP1 billion.
The FTSE 100 index opened Friday about 0.25% higher, the AIM All-Share opened lower, and the FTSE 250 was close to flat. However, within the first hour of trade most indices had moved into the red. This was the theme running throughout the day with indices either down or close to flat, finishing with a final dip at the market close.
The biggest faller on the FTSE 250 was Bwin.party, ending at 110.4778 pence, down 13%, after it reported that revenues fell 16% in the first half of the year and would fall further in the full year.
With a resolution regarding Syria seemingly no clearer, industrial metals were hit hard, down 5.3%, as investors shifted away from the traditional safe-haven of gold.
However, with the US not ruling out imminent action, the price of oil remains high and a barrel of Brent was up at USD114.76.
At the other end of the spectrum, mobile telecommunications were the biggest winners, up 0.7% as Vodafone continued rising, albeit at a slower rate, closing at 205.7479p. This followed Thursday's announcement confirming talks with Verizon Communications to sell it's 45% stake in the Verizon Wireless joint venture. Various media reported Friday that a deal could be struck within days.
A quiet day in the forex market saw the euro slide slightly against the dollar and the pound, as data from the Eurozone came out weaker than its major rivals in recent days.
Major US markets opened slightly higher, but were down by the UK close as investors closed risky positions ahead of the US holiday weekend and with fears of a strike on Syria still hanging over markets.
The Chicago Purchasing Managers' Index increased to 53.0, from 52.3 in July, marginally lower than forecast, whereas the Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index reached 82.1, ahead of the 80.5 forecast.
Following a busy week of corporate reports, the earnings reporting season is now over. Chinese NBS Manufacturing PMI will be released over a weekend likely to be dominated by decisions surrounding Syria, which is bound to have an important bearing on the markets at the beginning of next week. Markets will also be watching for any developments in the Vodafone talks.
By James Kemp; [email protected]
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