In mid-morning trading the FTSE 100 is trying to stage a recovery after a sharp initial decline.
The FTSE 100 gave an impression of suffering the after-effects of overindulgence following the bank holiday weekend, dropping around 70 points at the bell this morning, but by mid-morning the index seems to have found room for a good breakfast and is attempting something of a modest recovery. The decline has been led by a sell-off among miners and sounds-like-a-stuck-record concerns over the strength of the US recovery. Regarding the miners, Eurasian, Kazakhmys, Xstrata and Vedanta Resources are among the leading losers this morning, all down around 2% as base metals prices retreated, while the latest US concerns are risen out of worries that reports today will show that US home prices slowed in June and consumer confidence is approaching five-month lows.
Sterling too has had a disappointing morning, dropping against 15 of its 16 most-actively traded peers, including 0.3% against the dollar, ahead of a report that economists say will reveal fewer lender-approved mortgages last month. It’s only really been ARM Holdings (+4.17%) and Cable & Wireless (+2.07%) that have bucked the trend thus far today, although as the morning has progressed we’ve seen more life from London’s blue chips. After an initial drop of some 70 points, by 10am (London time) the FTSE had arrested the fall and was last seen looking slightly better off.
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