* FTSE 100 down 0.4 pct, eyes one-month lows
* Miners the biggest drag as Hurricane Sandy hits
* October FTSE volumes set to be 3rd lowest this year
LONDON, Oct 29 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 opened lower
on Monday, spooked by Hurricane Sandy which has already forced
hundreds of thousands of people on the U.S. East Coast to flee
their homes and has shut the U.S. stock market.
That added extra uncertainty to global financial markets
already suffering from concerns about the health of the world
economy and a relatively gloomy third quarter reporting season,
which has so far seen a third of UK companies miss expectations.
Insurance companies were among the top falling UK blue
chips, dragged down by prospects of hurricane claims, while
heavy-weight energy stocks were dented by a drop in oil prices
as the storm prompted refineries in the region to shut.
By 0840 GMT, the FTSE 100 was down 23.92 points, or 0.4
percent at 5,782.79 points, closing in on a one-month intra-day
low of 5,753.31 points set the previous session.
Sandy, which could become the largest storm to hit the U.S.
mainland, headed for the country's most densely populated area,
threatening destruction and flooding. That prompted the U.S.
stock and options markets to be shut for a weather-related for
the first time since 1985, likely also leading to thin volumes
and thus volatile trading in Europe.
"It looked at the back of last week like markets were
running out steam, the earnings were a drag ... Clearly this
doesn't help. With the U.S. closed today it's another excuse for
people not to do anything and we will get the obvious sectors
marked down," said Ian Williams, strategist at Peel Hunt.
Shares in insurers Old Mutual, Admiral Group
, Aviva and Prudential fell 1.3 to 0.8
percent, with the FTSE 350 non-life insurance sector down 1.8
percent. Heavyweight energy stocks,
meanwhile, shaved 7 points off the UK benchmark index.
The hurricane was likely to delay some U.S. corporates from
reporting earnings, giving markets fewer catalysts to trade on.
"The volumes are dire," said Steve Larkins, head of sales
trading at Seymour Pierce, forecasting that the FTSE 100 could
drift lower towards technical support around 5,850.
Only 4.7 percent of the average 90-day daily trading volumes
has gone through in the first 45 minutes of activity, adding to
already quiet conditions which have not really recovered from a
traditional summer lull.
October is on track to be the third quietest month on the
FTSE 100 this year for volumes, after July and August -- fresh
bad news for the banking sector where lack of financial market
activity has already hit earnings.
Trading updates from Barclays, Lloyds and
RBS are due this week, with investors concerned about
the likelihood of more provisions.
(Reporting By Toni Vorobyova. Editing by Jeremy Gaunt.)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/britains-ftse-100-falls-spooked-hurricane-sandy-085906700--business.html
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