UK Market News

Friday July 3, 10:13 AM
UK at a Glance-FTSE flat; oils, miners weak; banks, defensives gain

By Tricia Wright LONDON, July 3 (Reuters) - Britain's top share index was flat early on Friday following sharp losses in the previous session on downbeat U.S. jobs data, with weak oils and miners offsetting strength in banks and

defensives. By 0945 GMT the FTSE 100 index was off 4.60 points, or 0.1 percent, at 4,229.67 in subdued trading with U.S. markets closed on Friday for the Independence Day holiday. The UK blue chip index ended 106.44 points lower on Thursday at 4,234.27, sliding sharply with Wall Street after the U.S. jobs report showed non-farm payrolls falling by more than expected in June. 'It's a very quiet day in terms of corporate announcements and with the bank holiday on the other side of the pond I think you could just see us drifting for most of the day,' said Richard Hunter, head of UK equities at Hargreaves Lansdown. Weak heavyweight miners and oils were the biggest drag on the blue chips. Oil majors fell as crude steadied below $67 a barrel after a nearly 4 percent fall on Thursday as the high jobless numbers across the U.S., and in Europe revived concerns about the global economic outlook and its impact on energy demand. BP, Royal Dutch Shell (Amsterdam: RDSA.AS - news) , BG Group (LSE: BG.L - news) , Cairn Energy (Virt-X: CNE1.VX - news) , and Tullow Oil (LSE: TLW.L - news) lost 0.1 to 1.4 percent. Mining shares were broadly lower reflecting falls in metal prices on demand concerns. Antofagasta (LSE: ANTO.L - news) , Anglo American (LSE: AAL.L - news) , BHP Billiton (LSE: BLT.L - news) , Xstrata (LSE: XTA.L - news) , Vedanta Resources (LSE: VED.L - news) , and Rio Tinto lost 1.0 to 2.8 percent. Underwriters to Rio Tinto (LSE: RIO.L - news) 's rights issue have sold the Australian 'rump' at A$48.50 each, a 6.3 percent discount to Rio's last traded price, Rio said in a statement on Friday. Rio shares added 0.2 percent. Balfour Beatty (LSE: BBY.L - news) was down 2.2 percent after the infrastructure company's in-line trading update failed to inspire. Tesco (LSE: TSCO.L - news) slipped 0.3 percent. The largest retailer in Britain is set to face strong opposition to its planned share option scheme changes at its annual general meeting on Friday, the Financial Times said. BANKS REBOUND Banks added the most points to the blue chip index, rebounding after falls on Thursday. Royal Bank of Scotland (LSE: RBS.L - news) gained 1.1 percent, with Barclays (LSE: BARC.L - news) , HSBC (LSE: HSBA.L - news) and Lloyds Banking Group (LSE: LLOY.L - news) rising 0.8-1.2 percent Defensive issues found support as investors' risk appetite faded following the U.S. jobs disappointment, with tobacco and drug issues moving higher. GlaxoSmithKline (LSE: GSK.L - news) , AstraZeneca (LSE: AZN.L - news) , and Shire (LSE: GB00B0KQX869.L - news) took on 0.2 to 0.7 percent, while British American Tobacco and Imperial Tobacco (LSE: IMT.L - news) added 0.8 and 0.3 percent, respectively. Associated British Foods (LSE: ABF.L - news) , up 0.4 percent, was given a lift as Citigroup (NYSE: C - news) hiked its target price to 790 pence a share from 715 pence ahead of the company's third-quarter trading update, scheduled for release on July 9. And British Airways added 1.2 percent ahead of the airline's June passenger traffic numbers, due at 1315 GMT. There was little market reaction to data showing a slowing in the recovery in the British service sector in June, with the CIPS/Markit UK services PMI activity index reading of 51.6 below May's 51.7 reading and the forecast of 52.0. (Editing by Greg Mahlich) Keywords: MARKETS BRITAIN STOCKS