Market close: FTSE holds steady, but Glencore leads the commodities sector down
The FTSE 100 clocked a so-so first day back in the office after Easter, remaining unchanged at 6,105. However, there was more than just leftover Easter eggs for traders to sink their teeth into.
Commodities giants were left bruised after a note from Barclays warned that the sector could be in for a fresh rout. Glencore led the retreat into the red, dropping by five per cent to 143.80p even as ratings agency Moody’s said its debt reduction plans were on course.
Analysts at Barclays reckon copper could fall by one-fifth to $4,000 a metric ton, while oil could be about to shake-off its dizzying heights of $40 a barrel, dipping back towards $30 for a carton of the black stuff. Given such dark warnings, it was perhaps unsurprising that all of the nine worst performers on the FTSE 100 were all from the mining and natural resources sector
Over on the green side, bluchip new boy, Midiclinic, was feeling tickety-boo as the index’s top performer, ticking up more than 3 per cent to 883.50p.
Hot on its tail were Primark owner Associated British Foods (up 3.19 per cent), Ashtead Group (up 3.09 per cent), and Marks and Spencer (up 3.06 per cent).
It won’t be an early finish to the first day back in the office after Easter, however, as Janet Yellen, chair of the US Federal Reserve, was poised to take to the stage in New York to update the world on her latest economic thinking, following some mixed messages from the American rate-setters in recent weeks.