LONDON MARKETS: FTSE 100 Marks Time Ahead Of Trump Address
February 28 2017 - 4:57AM
Dow Jones News
By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
Miners hit by fall in metals prices
U.K. stocks failed to find momentum Tuesday as investors waited
to hear from President Donald Trump about his plans for
infrastructure and other spending in the U.S.
The FTSE 100 was up 0.1% at 7,257.74, after dipping slightly in
early trade as basic material, telecom and financial stocks lost
ground. The London index on Monday rose 0.1%, paring bigger gains.
But the blue-chip benchmark was on track for finish February with a
2.2% advance.
Investors are focused on a key address by Trump
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/trump-says-budget-will-call-for-historic-increase-in-defense-spending-2017-02-27-101035557)
before a joint session of Congress, in hopes of getting more
details about his administration's plans for boosting growth in the
world's largest economy.
While the speech is not scheduled to begin until after the close
of London trading -- 9 p.m. Eastern Time Tuesday, or 2 a.m. London
time Wednesday -- some information has emerged. On Monday, Trump
said he would have a "big statement" on infrastructure and said his
first budget proposal would include a "historic increase
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/trump-says-budget-will-call-for-historic-increase-in-defense-spending-2017-02-27-101035557)"
in military spending.
Read:How analysts say you should trade Trump's speech to
Congress
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/heres-how-analysts-say-you-should-trade-trumps-speech-to-congress-2017-02-24)
And: How the U.S. stock market has reacted to State of the Union
speeches
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/how-the-stock-market-has-reacted-to-state-of-the-union-speeches-2017-02-27)
Investors are "cautiously optimistic about Trump's congressional
address, desperately wanting more clarity about the policy ideas
fueling this rally," said Accendo Markets analysts Mike van Dulken
and Henry Croft, in a note.
Global equity markets have risen since Trump's victory in the
presidential election in November, fueled by optimism that his
promises of tax reform and fiscal stimulus will translate into
action and economic growth.
"Expect much more about increased military spending at the
expense of agency budgets, although anything on infrastructure
spending could be enough to make up for silence on tax to soothe
any bullish nerves," Dulken and Crofit said.
In London, shares of building materials maker CRH PLC gained
0.3%. Construction company Balfour Beatty PLC (BBY.LN) picked up
0.6% on the mid-cap FTSE 250 index .
Metal miners squeezed: Traders on Monday began pricing in a
slightly more than a 50% chance the U.S. Federal Reserve will hike
interest rates in March
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/odds-of-march-fed-interest-rate-hike-spike-above-50-2017-02-27).
The prospects of higher borrowing costs put pressure on prices for
metals, including copper and platinum .
Those metals price moves have in turn hurt prices of mining
shares. Randgold Resources PLC (RRS.LN) fell 3%, BHP Billiton PLC
(BLT.LN) (BHP.AU) (BHP.AU) moved down 1.5%, and Glencore PLC
(GLEN.LN) gave up 0.7%.
Fresnillo PLC (FRES.LN) fell 0.9%, even as the precious metals
miner raised its dividend and posted higher profit in 2016.
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/fresnillo-lifts-dividend-as-2016-profit-rises-2017-02-28)
Anglo American PLC (AAL.LN) gave up 1.7%. The company's De Beers
Group reported a 25% fall in diamond sales
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/anglo-american-de-beers-diamond-sales-fall-25-2017-02-28)
during the second cycle of the year, though the drop was in line
with its expectations.
Movers: Elsewhere, Babcock International Group PLC (BAB.LN)
climbed 3.9% after the support services company backed its
full-year outlook
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/babcock-backs-fiscal-2017-outlook-2017-02-28).
Economic update:Consumer confidence in the U.K. fell
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/uk-consumer-confidence-drops-in-february-gfk-2017-02-28)
in February, a survey by GfK showed, a sign that personal finances
may be being squeezed by a rise in inflation from the fall of the
pound after the Brexit vote.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 28, 2017 04:42 ET (09:42 GMT)
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