By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.K. stocks moved mostly lower on
Wednesday, after rate hikes in Turkey and South Africa failed to
halt the slides in their currencies and calm fears about emerging
markets. Miners moved mostly higher after upbeat production
updates.
The FTSE 100 index lost 0.4% to end at 6,544.28, marking the
lowest closing level since Dec. 18.
The benchmark had started in positive territory after the
Turkish central bank late Tuesday aggressively increased interest
rates to halt a recent slide in the currency and stem capital
outflows. Markets across Europe, however, started moving lower as
investors started to doubt if the move was enough to calm the
currency volatility. On Wednesday, the South African Reserve Bank
on also raised interest rates, as the bank sought to reduce
turbulence caused by the withdrawal of U.S. monetary stimulus and
fears of a growth slowdown in China.
Banks posted some of the biggest losses in London. HSBC Holdings
PLC (HSBC) dropped 1.2%, Standard Chartered PLC lost 1% and Lloyds
Banking Group PLC (LYG) gave up 0.9%.
Shares of J Sainsbury PLC lost 2.3% after the supermarket chain
said Chief Executive Justin King has decided to step down and will
be replaced by Mike Coupe.
On a more upbeat note, shares of Anglo American gained 5.7%
after the miner said production rose across most commodities in the
fourth quarter. Iron-ore output jumped 25%, while copper production
rose 24% to a record 214,400 tons in the period.
Antofagasta picked up 6.1% after posting a rise in full-year
copper production, which it attributed to strong performance across
all its operations.
Other mining companies were also on the rise, with shares of
Randgold Resources Ltd. up 3.2% and Rio Tinto PLC rising 1.1%.
Metals prices were mixed.
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