The FTSE 100 is projected to open with a marginal loss today after rallying 1.1% on Monday to hit four month highs.
Copper miner Kazakhmys (LON:KAZ) was the top performer in the FTSE 100 with a 5.2% gain. Plumbing and heating equipment manufacturer Wolseley (LON:WOS) advanced 5%. Base metal miners Vedanta Resources (LON:VED) and Anglo American (LON:AAL) followed, tacking on 3.5% and 3.2% respectively. Essar Energy (LON:ESSR) and defence and aerospace systems manufacturer BAE Systems (LON:BA) also added 3.2%, while miner Antofagasta (LON:ANTO) and insurer Prudential (LON:PRU) rose 3.1%.
Associated British Foods (LON:ABF) and tour operator TUI Travel (LON:TT) were the only FTSE 100 constituents to lose more than 1%, shedding 1.5% and 1.4% respectively.
US stocks did well yesterday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.8%, the broader S&P 500 index advanced 1.1% and the technology heavy NASDAQ composite rallied 1.9%.
Asian stocks were mixed today. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index climbed 0.25%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.3%, while Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index declined 0.55% and South Korea’s KOSPI lost 0.2%.
Commodities
Oil prices were unchanged from yesterday. October Brent Crude stood at US$79.07/barrel, while US light, sweet crude for October delivery traded at US$77.13/barrel.
Precious metals advanced. Gold rose to US$1,249/oz, while silver and platinum reached US$20.20/oz and US$1,563/oz respectively.
Base metals followed. Copper improved to US$3.45/lb, while nickel and zinc climbed to US$10.55/lb and US$0.98/lb respectively.
US retail sales and consumer confidence updates are due out today, as is UK inflation data.