LONDON MARKETS: FTSE 100 Closes Lower As Mining Shares Slump

By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch

Pound extends Obama-inspired gains; BHS facing collapse

U.K. shares ended lower Monday, with mining shares struggling at the start of the new trading week.

The FTSE 100 fell 0.8% to close at 6,260.92. The blue-chip index on Friday dropped 1.1%, (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/uk-stocks-erase-weekly-gain-as-miners-slump-2016-04-22) leaving it with a weekly loss of 0.5%.

The British benchmark on Monday saw "mining stocks dominating the lower reaches of the index with a bit of skepticism in play here over just how much more headroom is left in terms of a rally for underlying prices," said Tony Cross, market analyst at Trustnet Direct in a note. "There's little restraint being shown in terms of reining in production and China's ability to keep consuming does have limits."

At the bottom of benchmark, platinum provider Anglo American PLC (AAL.LN) dropped 7.3%, iron ore heavyweight BHP Billiton PLC (BLT.LN) (BHP.AU) (BHP.AU) fell 5.8% and Rio Tinto PLC (RIO) (RIO) (RIO) lost 4.2%.

But topping the index, Imperial Brands PLC (IMBBY) shares climbed 3.1% following a ratings upgrade of the tobacco maker to buy at Goldman Sachs. Equipment rental company Ashtead Group PLC (AHT.LN) gained 2.7% after a ratings upgrade to buy from underperform at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

On the midcap FTSE 250 , Sports Direct International PLC (SPD.LN) shares rose 0.8% following reports the retailer had discussed a possible buyout of BHS, a privately held department store operator.

BHS went into administration on Monday, according to reports, putting roughly 11,000 jobs at risk.

Sterling: The pound rose 0.6% to $1.4492, hitting a six-week high after U.S. President Obama urged Britons (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/obama-expected-to-advise-uks-cameron-against-brexit-2016-04-22) on Friday to stick with the European Union when they vote on "Brexit" on June 23. Obama also said an exclusive trade deal between Britain and the U.S. could take up to 10 years (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/obama-says-post-brexit-us-uk-trade-deal-could-take-a-decade-2016-04-24) to negotiate if the U.K. were to leave the EU.

Read:Brexit looks less likely after Obama's pro-EU comments (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/obamas-brexit-comments-spark-sharp-rise-in-pro-eu-betting-2016-04-25)

"As the odds of Brexit have been slashed, so too have short positions in the pound, for there was nothing else constructive last week to support the currency as the latest employment and retail sales figures both disappointed expectations," said Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst at City Index and Forex.com, in a note.

Investors will watch for preliminary first-quarter GDP data on Wednesday, he added, with expectations for a 0.4% reading compared with 0.6% growth in the fourth quarter.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 25, 2016 12:07 ET (16:07 GMT)

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