FTSE bounces off lows after good US data
BRITAIN’S FTSE 100 closed off intraday lows yesterday as upbeat US economic data brought some cheer to an otherwise gloomy macro outlook, helping oil stocks pare losses, while banks and miners sagged as Greece’s debt crisis rumbled on.
London’s blue chip index closed down 6.78 points, or 0.1 per cent at 5,885.38, bouncing off an intraday low 5,829.38 as US equity markets strengthened.
But volumes remained light at just 84 per cent of an already weak 90-day average, pointing up a muted appetite for risking fresh cash against a mixed economic backdrop.
The US data suggested the recovery in the world’s biggest economy was gaining a head of steam and further decoupling it from other developed economies.
Crude oil rallied after the U.S. data, which suggested demand from the United States would remain robust and support the current price above $100 a barrel.
UK miners fell for the third successive session. The sector had gained 30 per cent since late 2011 but Citigroup switched to a bearish stance on Wednesday, citing spot commodity prices still pointing to earnings downgrades.
Cuts to military spending by the US and Britain bit into profit at BAE Systems, Europe’s biggest defence contractor, and sent its shares 2.3 per cent lower.
International Airlines shed 1.2 percent as Deutsche Bank cut its earnings forecasts on the owner of British Airways and Iberia by up to 31 per cent ahead of the company’s full-year results due on 29 February.