Sector movers: Industrial metals rise on steel reinforcement
Rising metals prices gave a leg-up up to stocks including Ferrexpo among the risers and saw Evraz hit an intraday 52-week high before tailing off. Miners were generally on the up as the decline in the dollar helped drive a rise in metals prices.
Industrial metals benefitted from Chinese steel rebar futures rising, up almost 7% to $686.1 per metric tonne earlier, as reports emerged that the top steel-making hub in the People's Republic, the city of Tangshan, is set to propose new curbs on output in a bid to reduce pollution. The measures will be put in place once the current measures in place expire in March, Reuters reported.
The personal goods sector was led by Unilever. Over recent days there has been news emerging about the Anglo-Dutch consumer goods giant looming decision over its corporate structure, with directors expected to hold a vote in the next few weeks to decide whether to move its headquarters to Rotterdam and closing its joint head office in London. No decision has yet been taken, the company insisted.
However, the Sunday Times reported that some big shareholders warned directors that an exit from London, which is thought to be part of a ruse to make the company safe from foreign predators, "not necessarily” be good for investors.
A decline in Royal Mail was the cause of the dip in the industrial transportation sector. A quarterly reshuffle by FTSE Russell is predicted to see the company demoted from the FTSE 100.
Property company Hammerson is also slated to drop out of the blue chip index, while the AA is likely to be relegated from the FTSE 250 along with inhaler maker Vectura Group, retailer N Brown, outsourcer Mitie, property developer Hansteen and funeral provider Dignity.
Games Workshop is among those which could potentially be promoted in their place, as well as Pantheon International , Charter Court Financial Services and On The Beach.
Top performing sectors so far today
Industrial Metals & Mining +1.69%
Personal Goods +1.50%
Mining +1.48%
Food Producers & Processors +1.21%
Aerospace and Defence +1.13%
Bottom performing sectors so far today
Industrial Transportation -0.55%
Fixed Line Telecommunications -0.35%
Banks -0.30%
Financial Services -0.26%
Electricity -0.13%