LONDON MARKETS: FTSE 100 Ends Slightly Lower After Hitting 2-week High; Randgold Shines
07 February 2017 - 4:13AM
Dow Jones News
By Carla Mozee and Victor Reklaitis, MarketWatch
Miners on the rise
Blue-chip stocks in London closed modestly lower Monday, after
ending last week at a two-week high, but Randgold Resources Ltd.
pushed higher following the gold miner's financial update.
The FTSE 100 dipped 0.2% to finish at 7,172.15, retreating after
the index on Friday scored
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ftse-100-moves-higher-as-bank-shares-rise-on-dodd-frank-hopes-2017-02-03)
its highest close since Jan. 20. Friday's move helped the benchmark
notch a weekly gain of 0.1%.
Monday's 4.2% rise in Randgold Resources shares (RRS.LN) put the
gold producer at the top of the London benchmark. The company
posted a 76% leap in fourth-quarter net profit
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/randgold-quarterly-profit-jumps-76-ups-dividend-2017-02-06)
to $78.5 million, and raised its final dividend by 52% to $1.
Shares of other miners moved higher, with precious metals
producer Fresnillo PLC (FRES.LN) up 1.3%. Glencore PLC (GLEN.LN)
finished up 0.4%, and Antofagasta PLC (ANTO.LN) tacked on 0.6%.
A rally in gold
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gold-prices-add-to-last-weeks-big-advance-2017-02-06)
and silver futures was helping the sector, with both metals up
roughly 1%.
Also closing higher was National Grid PLC (NG.LN) , whose shares
rose by 0.6%. The electricity-transmission company said it's
planning to buy back up to 3.5 million shares
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/national-grid-to-buy-back-up-to-35-mln-in-shares-2017-02-06).
On the downside, shares of department store operator Marks &
Spencer Group PLC (MKS.LN) gave up 1.5%, and house builder Taylor
Wimpey PLC (TW.LN) finished down 1.6%.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 06, 2017 11:58 ET (16:58 GMT)
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