London’s main stock index slipped from record highs this morning, suppressed by struggling mining and leisure stocks.
The FTSE 100 was trading down 22.1 points, or 0.29 per cent, at 7,525.53 shortly before midday. Having initially started the week on the front foot, the blue-chip index fell back as sterling strengthened before Thursday’s general election.
“Stability in the pound is significant,” Kathleen Brooks, research director at City Index, said. “Even though one poll for the Mail on Sunday suggests that the Conservatives only have a one-point lead over Labour, the markets are not in panic mode. Polls don’t seem to have the same impact on financial markets that they have had in the past.”
Antofagasta shed 18½p to 786½p after HSBC downgraded the copper miner from “hold” to “reduce”. BHP Billiton slipped 17p to £11.68 and Rio Tinto lost 42p to £31.13¾. In the mid-caps, HSBC also hit Kaz Minerals with a “reduce” rating, sending it down 18¼p to 476p.
Saturday night’s terrorist attack in London Bridge also weighed on the market, as the City returned to work for the first time after the atrocity. Merlin Entertainments, the operator of tourism attractions including the London Eye and Thorpe Park, lost 9p to 528p. Shares in the company often take a hit after such attacks, with investors concerned that nervousness may lead visitors to steer clear of such attractions.
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Airlines were also under pressure, having finished last week on a positive note. Easyjet was trading down 26p, at £13.63, and International Airlines Group, the owner of British Airways, was down 7½p, at 600p.
Sage Group dropped 18p to 711p after Numis cut its rating for the payment solutions provider from “add” to “hold”.
At the top of the index, Marks & Spencer led the way, rising 2½p to 370¼p. Next was also climbing, by 19p to £43.80.
The FTSE 250 struggled through the morning. It was trading down 32.20 points, or 0.16 per cent, at 19,969.78.
Ocado overcame a sluggish morning of trading to rise 12¼p to 328¼p. The digital grocery company announced that it was licensing its technology to a European retailer, which “wishes to remain anonymous until it launches its online business in order to retain competitive advantage”.
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The meteoric rise of Metro Bank continues. Shares in the smaller lender were trading at all-time highs, up 118p at £38.43, after KBW lifted its target price from £40 to £41.