FTSE Passes 6,000 on a Last-Minute Holiday Cheer

Trading lower for most of Friday, the FTSE 100 closed at 6,009 points amid low volumes and volatile market

Dea Markova | 24-12-10 | E-mail Article

The FTSE 100 managed to pass the psychologically-important 6,000-point mark on Friday after a last minute surge lifted the index amid light volumes and higher volatility in the shortened pre-holiday trading session.

The FTSE 100 index closed up 0.2%, gaining 29 points in the last 15 minutes of trade and ultimately reaching 6,009. The FTSE 250 index, however, slipped 0.7% or 76 points to 11,493.

A historically strong “Santa rally” pushed the FTSE 100 up 2.3% or 137 points this week and 8.7% or 481 point since the beginning of December. The index now stands at its highest level since May 2008.

In today’s trade, investors shied away from risky assets having seen mixed data released in the US on Thursday and another sovereign debt downgrade in peripheral Europe. Yesterday evening, rating agency Fitch downgraded Portugal’s sovereign debt for the second time this year from AA- to A+ and placed it on “negative outlook.”

For the few active traders out there, risk appetite was also curbed by China’s central bank reiterating its stance against inflation and excess liquidity on Friday.

Consumer-facing stocks were among the top gainers as retailers continued to benefit from a respite in the bad weather that had intimidated consumers during what is traditionally the busiest time of the year for stores. Next (NXT), Kingfisher (KGF) and TESCO (TSCO) were up between 1.3% and 1.9%.

Defensive stocks gained from the rotation out of cyclicals. Smith & Nephew (SN.) gained 1.9%, International Power (IPR) and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) added 1.3% and 1.2% respectively.

JJB Sports (JJB) stood out among the list of FTSE 250 gainers, adding 24.2% after the company announced that it plans to raise at least £31.5 million and has secured support of key stakeholders such as Bill Gates.

On the flipside, Randgold Resources (RRS) was the biggest faller. It closed down 4.3% having announced that the political tensions in Ivory Coast and below-target contributions from its Loulo project in Mali will negatively impact its fourth-quarter production figures.

Most miners also dipped, dragged down by lower metal prices. African Barrick Gold (ABG), Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (ENRC), and Xstrata (XTA) shed between 0.6% and 1.2%.

Auto-manufacturer GKN (GKN) was the second biggest loser today, down 3.5%. Industry peers performed poorly in China after Beijing resolved to limit the number of new passenger vehicles in order to curb road congestion in the Chinese capital.

With the London Stock Exchange closed for half of the week commencing on December 28, volumes are likely to remain low until we kick off 2011 and aside from the FTSE 100’s flirt with 6,000-point mark, there will be little to get excited about next week.

Morningstar wishes all its readers seasonal greetings and a very merry holiday weekend.

Dea Markova is Assistant Online Editor with Morningstar UK. She would like to hear from you but cannot give financial advice. You can contact the author via this feedback form.
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