The London market took little cheer from positive economic growth figures in the US yesterday as slipping metal prices weighed on mining stocks.
The US Bureau of Economic Analysis said GDP grew at an annualised rate of 3.2 per cent between October and December, which was up on the annual rate of 2.6 per cent in the previous quarter. The US economy grew by 2.9 per cent in the whole of 2010, which is the strongest year of growth since 2005.
But the FTSE 100 Index closed 83.7 points down at 5881.4, hit by losses in the weighty mining sector as sliding metal prices saw Vedanta Resources lose 109p at 2291p, Anglo American slip 112p at 3031p and Rio Tinto drop 132.5p at 4281.5p.
The US figures strengthened the dollar, which was up against the pound at £1.58. However, sterling was up against the euro at €1.16.
A drop in oil prices saw the energy sector take a hit, with Essar Energy hitting the top of the fallers’ board, losing nearly six per cent or 30.5p at 512.5p, while Petrofac shed 61p at 1551p and BG Group lost 58p at 1334p.
Sentiment was not helped by a gloomy consumer confidence survey from market research firm GfK NOP.
The study revealed the biggest drop in consumer confidence in nearly 20 years between December and January as Britons faced up to the reality of higher VAT and public spending cuts.
Shares in TUI Travel dropped four per cent, down 12.1p to 259.8p, after a downgrade by Deutsche Bank and as traders monitored the civil unrest in Egypt, one of the travel industry’s leading destinations.
Pubs and brewing group Marston’s saw its share price drop 1.5p to 102.3p after the company reported strong trading figures for Christmas and New Year. The 11.2 per cent rise in the 12-day period helped the Tavern Table owner to offset the impact of snow disruption at the start of December, while its operating margin was slightly better than a year earlier.
Fellow pub company and brewer Fuller, Smith & Turner was down 3.5p at 616p despite reporting that sales of its own-brewed beers including London Pride returned to growth.
But it echoed the sentiments in the consumer confidence survey when it warned that customers’ spending power was likely to be squeezed by the government’s austerity measures.
Meanwhile, banknote printer De La Rue said supplies to a key customer were still suspended as it is yet to resolve talks over production problems five months after they first emerged. Its shares dipped 12p to 686.5p, or 1.7 per cent.
The biggest Footsie risers were Inmarsat up 16p at 681.5p, Capita ahead 12.5p at 687.5p, Man Group up 4.6p at 296.5p and Randgold Resources ahead 38p at 4847p.
The biggest Footsie fallers were Essar Energy down 30.5p at 512.5p, Vedanta Resources off 109p at 2291p, TUI Travel down 12.1p at 259.8p and BG Group down 58p at 1334p.