Miners benefit from financials that drag down the UK's FTSE100
The UK's FTSE 100 dipped on Wednesday, as financials shares declined. This was offset by gains in energy and mining stocks ahead of next week's U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate decision.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 as well as the midcap FTSE 250 both fell 0.2% at 11:05 GMT. This is on course to be the third consecutive session of declines.
After a session of gains, heavyweight bank shares fell by almost 1%.
The British financial regulator announced that it would lift the suspension on motor finance complaints by May 31, 2026. This is two months earlier than originally proposed. It will also finalise a compensation plan for those affected by a misselling scandal.
The scandal dates back to 2007 and involves lenders like Lloyds, Close Brothers, and Barclays, who are accused of using excessively higher interest rates for car-finance agreements and extra bonus payments.
Close Brothers and Barclays both declined by 1.5% and 0.6% respectively.
HSBC Holdings fell by 1.1% after Brendan Nelson, interim chairman, was named permanent CEO.
Investment banks and brokerages fell by 1.2%. Asset manager Intermediate Capital Group declined 2.3%.
Spire Healthcare, a hospital group, warned that its annual profit would be at the lower end of the guidance range.
Sainsbury's shares fell by 4% following the disclosure that Qatar's sovereign fund intends to reduce its stake.
Energy stocks, on the other hand, gained 0.7% after Russia announced that talks with U.S. officials at Moscow had failed to achieve a compromise over a possible peace deal for Ukraine.
Copper prices rose by 1%, which led to a rise in industrial metals miners. Glencore, Rio Tinto Antofagasta, and Anglo American all gained between 1,3% and 1,8%. Precious metal miners gained 1%.
Smiths Group gained 1.5% after the engineering company announced that it had agreed with CVC Capital to sell its baggage screening unit for $2.65 Billion. (Reporting by Utkarsh Tushar Hathi in Bengaluru; Editing by Sahal Muhammed)
(source: Reuters)
