27th Sep 2013 12:43
LONDON (Alliance News) - London's main stock indices are giving mixed readings prior to the US market open Friday, with small-caps outperforming their larger peers.
Investor sentiment continues to be knocked by US politics. With US budget negotiations set to rumble on into the weekend, traders have looked to minimise risk by moving away from equity portfolios ahead of next Tuesday's budget deadline.
Further contributing to investor unease is US debt limit discussions. The US Treasury is expected to hit its USD16.7 trillion ceiling by October 17.
Predictably, the price of gold has strengthened. The yellow metal now trades up 1.4% at USD1338.40 per ounce, the traditional safe-haven's highest level for six days.
Ahead of the US market open, the FTSE 100 is down 0.9% at 6,505.33, and the FTSE 250 is down 0.6% at 14,916.17, but the AIM All-Share index is up 0.2% at 794.32.
House-building stocks continue to fall. UK Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne's decision to give the Bank of England greater input into the government's Help-to-Buy scheme has negatively affected the sector, which is down 1.5%.
Persimmon, down 4.5%, is the biggest faller in the FTSE 100, whilst in the FTSE 250, Bovis Homes, down 3.6%, Taylor Wimpey, down 2.6%, Barratt Developments, down 3.1%, and Bellway, down 2.2%, all are among the mid-cap index's big losers.
US data reveals that personal income increased by 0.4% in August, whilst personal spending increased by 0.3%. Both figures were in line with consensus forecasts cited by FXstreet.com.
Having gained ground Thursday, Wall Street is expected to open lower Friday. The DJIA is called to open down 0.4%. Similarly the Nasdaq is expected to open 0.4% lower, with the S&P down 0.5%.
Michigan consumer sentiment is scheduled for 1455 BST.
By James Kemp; [email protected]
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Related Shares:
Bovis HomesBellwayBarratt DevelopmentsPersimmonTaylor Wimpey