The FTSE 100 is expected to shed 33 points (0.5 percent) in early trade today after declining marginally to close at 5,923 on Monday.
Mining major Antofagasta (LON:ANTO) led the blue chips yesterday, climbing 4 percent. Software company Autonomy Corporation (LON:AU) followed with a 2.7 percent gain. Miners Kazakhmys (LON:KAZ), BHP Billiton (LON:BLT), Xstrata (LON:XTA) and Anglo American (LON:AAL) added just over 2 percent.
Temporary power provider Aggreko (LON:AGK) was at the bottom of the pile with a 3.4 percent loss. Quality and safety services company Intertek (LON:ITRK), engineering firms Invensys (LON:ISYS) and Weir Group (LON:WEIR) lost a little over 2 percent. Builders’ merchant Wolseley (LON:WOS) and ITV (LON:ITV) were down 2 percent.
US stocks were headed south yesterday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) fell 47 points (0.4 percent) to 12,548, the broader S&P 500 index slipped 8 points (0.6 percent) to 1,329 and the technology heavy NASDAQ composite dropped 46 points (1.6 percent) to 2,782.
American Express (NYSE:AXP) led the DJIA components, advancing 1.2 percent. Intel Corp (NYSE:INTC) and Travelers Company (NYSE:TRV) tacked on 1 percent.
Microsoft (NYSE:MSFT) and Cisco (NYSE:CSCO) were at the bottom of the pile with losses of nearly 2 percent. Boeing (NYSE:BA), Hewlett Packard (NYSE:HPQ) and Disney (NYSE:DIS) eased 1.5 percent.
Commodities
Brent crude for June delivery declined to US$110.91/barrel.
Precious metals were on the rise. Gold reached US$1,494/oz. Silver and platinum advanced to US$33.95/oz and US$1,767/oz respectively.
Base metals followed. Copper and nickel rose to US$4/lb and US$11.03/lb. Zinc stood at US$0.966/lb.
Today’s macroeconomic data will include US housing starts and industrial production.