logo-loader

FTSE 100 seen higher

Published: 15:55 11 Jul 2011 AEST

no_picture_pai

The FTSE 100 is expected to rise 5 points (0.1 percent) this morning after slipping 64 points (1.05 percent) on Friday to end the week at 5,990.

Associated British Foods (LON:ABF) led the UK blue chips on Friday, closing with a 1.7 percent gain. Hedge fund manager Man Group (LON:EMG) followed, tacking on 1.5 percent.

Supermarket chain Tesco (LON:TSCO) rose 1.1 percent on Friday.

Broadcaster BSkyB (LON:BSY) was the heaviest faller in the FTSE 100 on Friday, sliding 7.6 percent.

Miners Antofagasta (LON:ANTO) and Vedanta Resources (LON:VED) dropped 4.5 percent and 4.3 percent respectively.

Chipmaker ARM Holdings (LON:ARM) and Indian operating energy company Essar Energy (LON:ESSR) both lost 4 percent.

US stocks were in decline. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) dropped 62 points (0.5 percent) to 12,657, while the broader S&P 500 index dipped 9.5 points (0.7 percent) to 1,343.

Merck (NYSE:MRK) was the top performer among the DJIA components on Friday, climbing 1.1 percent.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) was in decline, falling 2 percent.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) and JP Morgan (NYSE:JPM) both declined 1.5 percent.

Boeing (NYSE:BA) and Home Depot (NYSE:HD) both fell 1.2 percent.

In Asia, Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 68.5 points (0.7 percent) at 10,069 just before close of play today. China’s Shanghai Composite Index stood at 2,801 at the end of today’s session after tacking on 3.5 points (0.15 percent).

Commodities

US light, sweet crude for August delivery fell to US$95.49/barrel overnight in Asia. August Brent crude traded at US$117.52/barrel this morning.

Gold rose to US$1,546/oz this morning, while silver and platinum pulled back to US$36.55/oz and US$1,734/oz respectively.

Base metals were on the rise this morning with copper and nickel edging higher to US$4.36/lb and US$10.77/lb respectively.

Australian Strategic Materials signs US$600 million LoI

Rowena Smith, CEO and managing director of Australian Strategic Materials Ltd (ASX:ASM, OTC:ASMMF), joins Jonathan Jackson in the Proactive studio to discuss the company’ s Dubbo Project, in Central West New South Wales. This project aims to extract and process critical minerals and rare earth...

13 hours, 37 minutes ago