logo-loader

FTSE 100 edges up as banks hold firm

Published: 02:53 11 Apr 2014 AEST

hsbc_350_5346ccbfd1130

Britain’s blue chip shares index ended Thursday marginally above the previous day’s closing mark as the banking sector provided support despite some heavyweight fallers.

The FTSE 100 finished 6.236 points higher at 6,642. 

Banking stocks were robust after the US Federal Reserve hinted that it will keep interest rates low.

Earlier comments from new Fed chairman Janet Yellen alarmed investors to a possible early rate hike from the central bank, but the latest minutes suggested it was more supportive of sticking to the current rates than most had thought.

CMC Markets’ Jasper Lawler is not convinced though.

“For the moment the minutes are positive for stocks but there was still no further description of what a “considerable time” means to explain when rates will rise, so really the ‘6 months’ is still a possibility,” the market analyst argues.

Banking giant HSBC (LON:HSBA) rose 1%, Barclays (LON:BARC) climbed 0.5%, Lloyds Banking Group (LON:LLOY) finished a touch higher, while Royal Bank of Scotland (LON:RBS) dipped after spending most of the day in the black, down to 308.5p.

Miners, which like banks are sensitive to the global economy, failed to register the same gains after China, the world’s largest importer of metals, ruled out major stimulus to support its economic growth.

Marks & Spencer (LON:MKS), Britain’s biggest clothing retailer, suffered the heaviest fall, down 3.1% to 442p after concerns about profit margins which were flagged in an analyst conference call.

That boosted rival high street fashion house Next (LON:NXT), up 1.2%, but dragged shares in supermarket chain Morrisons (LON:MRW) down 2.3%.

On the small-cap market, Sports Stars Media (LON:SPSM) lost three-quarters of its value as Jose Mourinho and Cristiano Ronaldo have failed to pull in the crowds.

The Portuguese group has sold its cartoon, ‘Mourinho and the Special Ones’, as well as ‘The Game by Ronaldo’, which was hailed as the world’s biggest ever five-a-side football tournament, to Golden Rays Ventures, a new company owned by shareholders of Sports Stars Media.

Golden Rays has also promised to pay £636,000 if certain ‘trigger events’ are achieved, it added.

Business has been so bad in 2014 that it generated just £980 in revenues in the first two months of the year.

The new shell company, to be renamed Stallion Resources, will invest in or acquire companies or projects in the natural resources and/or energy sector. 

The stock tanked 73% to 0.1p, valuing the group at just £430,000.

Strategic Minerals (LON:SML) fell 25% to 0.835p after raising around £1mln through a subscription from new investors to bolster its balance sheet.

Investors have subscribed for 125mln shares of the iron group at 0.8p each – that’s around a 28% discount to Wednesday's closing price. It said the funds would mainly be used for working capital.

A corporate review has resulted in streamlining overheads and significant savings of £650,000, it added.

There were also plenty of minnows on the winning side however.

Motive Television (LON:MTV) finished 5% higher at 0.022p. The company revealed it is aiming to have its Freeview Tablet TV product on Britain’s shelves in time for this summer’s World Cup.

Football fans will be able to watch the action from Brazil on tablets without an internet connection with Tablet TV.

Chief executive Leonard M Fertig said: “We have been working to make it possible for football fans to be able to watch and record the World Cup matches starting June as well as have the complete Freeview experience on their tablets, including red button interactivity.”


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...

8 hours, 1 minute ago