LONDON MARKETS: FTSE 100 Bounces Higher As Fed Effect Fades
20 May 2016 - 6:32PM
Dow Jones News
By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
Upbeat commodities put index on track for biggest gain in a
month
U.K. stocks rose Friday, heading for their strongest session in
a month, as markets recovered from a selloff on the back of
concerns about U.S. interest-rate increases.
The FTSE 100 was up 1.4% at 6,138.84, on track for its largest
percentage rise since April 13, according to FactSet data.
The blue-chip benchmark on Thursday dropped 1.8%
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ftse-100-slides-to-6-week-low-after-fed-hints-at-rate-hike-2016-05-19)
and closed at a two-month low as U.S. Federal Reserve minutes
suggested policy makers will increase interest rates as soon as
their June meeting.
Friday's advances arrived "as concerns about U.S. rate-hike
timing following the release of the latest [Fed minutes] ease into
the end of what has been an exciting, yet volatile, week," said
Accendo Markets analysts in a note.
The moves were pushing the London benchmark just into positive
territory for the week.
Movers: The basic materials and oil and gas sectors put in the
strongest performances. Commodity shares, which make up about a
fifth of the FTSE 100, topped the index in part as the dollar edged
lower.
Shares of platinum producer Anglo American PLC (AAL.LN) climbed
4.5%, Glencore PLC (GLEN.LN) picked up 2.9% and oil major Royal
Dutch Shell PLC (RDSB.LN) (RDSB.LN) rose 1.9% as Brent crude
recaptured the $49-a-barrel level.
On the mid-cap FTSE 250 , Ladbrokes PLC (LAD.LN) shares rallied
10% after a competition regulator released provisional findings of
an investigation into a planned merger with Gala Coral Group Ltd.
It said the two bookmakers may have to sell up to 400 betting shops
for their merger to be conditionally approved.
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ladbroke-shares-jump-after-cma-outlines-merger-findings-2016-05-20)
Sterling: The pound was trading at $1.4605, compared with
$1.4618 late Thursday in New York. The pound was moving toward a
1.5% rise for the week.
Recent polls have shown a shift toward a "remain" vote in the
Brexit referendum on whether the U.K. should stay in the EU.
"Pollsters have got it wrong in the past, however, if they are
on the mark this time round, we may continue to creep higher," said
Tobias Davis, U.K. head of corporate treasury sales at Western
Union Business Solutions, in a note.
Reports on Friday said attendees at an informal gathering of
Group of Seven finance officials and academics in Sendai, Japan,
expressed concerns about the impact of the upcoming Brexit vote on
financial markets. Britons will vote in the in/out referendum on
June 23.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 20, 2016 04:17 ET (08:17 GMT)
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