LONDON MARKETS: FTSE 100 Ends Higher, Rebounding From 3-month Low As North Korea Fears Subside
August 14 2017 - 12:37PM
Dow Jones News
By Sara Sjolin and Victor Reklaitis, MarketWatch
Oil slide as worries over OPEC supply persist
U.K. stocks closed higher Monday, bringing an end to a
three-session losing run as investor anxiety over tensions between
the U.S. and North Korea subsided.
The FTSE 100 index rose 0.6% to finish at 7,353.89, rebounding
after closing Friday at its lowest level since early May
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ftse-100-heads-for-1-month-low-as-trump-ups-the-ante-in-north-korea-standoff-2017-08-11).
The blue-chip benchmark last week slid 2.7%, suffering its
biggest weekly decline since the April, thanks in part to a war of
words between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader
Kim Jong Un, which fueled fears of military action.
However, on Sunday U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis and
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson wrote the Trump administration was
seeking diplomatic solutions
(http://nation.foxnews.com/2017/08/13/mattis-and-tillerson-were-holding-pyongyang-account)
to achieve the "irreversible denuclearization" of North Korea.
Additionally, national security adviser H.R. McMaster and Central
Intelligence Agency Director Mike Pompeo agreed that a conflict is
avoidable and that an attack by North Korea doesn't appear
imminent.
"The geopolitical tensions that have been driving traders into
safe haven assets in recent days seem to be dissipating a touch,"
said Richard Perry, market analyst at Hantec Markets, in a
note.
Stock movers: TUI AG climbed 4.8% for the FTSE 100's biggest
gain. Credit Suisse analysts lifted their rating for the travel
operator to neutral from underperform, saying they see upside
potential in the company's earnings, Dow Jones Newswires
reported.
Miners were also notable advancers in London on Monday, unfazed
by data showing industrial output in China -- a huge consumer of
commodities -- slowed in July
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/chinas-industrial-output-slows-down-in-july-2017-08-13).
Shares in Glencore PLC (GLEN.LN) rose 3.1%, Anglo American PLC
(AAL.LN) added 1.5%, and Rio Tinto PLC (RIO) (RIO) (RIO) gained
1.3%.
Mining companies are "some of the biggest gainers on the FTSE
100 today even though China's data overnight failed to impress
investors," said David Madden, a CMC Markets UK analyst, in a
note.
Energy companies, on the other hand, declined as oil prices
slumped, with concerns over rising production continuing to grip
the market. Shares in Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSB.LN) (RDSB.LN)
fell 0.1%, while Tullow Oil PLC (TLW.LN) gave up 0.4%. BP PLC
shares (BP.LN) (BP.LN) were down 0.4%.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 14, 2017 12:22 ET (16:22 GMT)
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