FTSE 100 live: Flat morning in London as miners and gloomy retail sales offset consumer gains
The FTSE 100 struggled to get off the mark in early trading on Friday as losses for industrial miners and gloomy retail sales data offset gains for some consumer and healthcare stocks.
London’s flagship exchange was trading flat, up 6 points at 7,908.60 during the final day of a subdued week on London’s markets.
A 3.8 per cent fall for Rio Tinto, triggered by JP Morgan slashing its target price for the stock, led the falls for London’s big mining firms. Glencore also tumbled 1.1 per cent after it reported lower copper, zinc and nickel production for the first quarter.
Fresh data showed UK’s retail sales fell by a bigger-than-expected 0.9 per cent in March from February, hit by a double whammy of inflation and the sixth wettest March on record.
Analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, Sophie Lund-Yates, said the FTSE 100 would likely end the week on a subdued note.
“The lack of lift-off in any meaningful way is likely to reflect ongoing concerns around economic and business activity following the miss on retail sales,” she said.
“At the same time, the US also saw its main indices slip in yesterday’s trading session, with futures now flat.”