London stocks rebound on gains in metal miners ahead of elections

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03/07/2024 08:41

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        * 
      FTSE 100 up 0.5%, FTSE 250 adds 0.4%
    

        * 
      Copper miners lead gains 
    

        * 
      JD Sports falls after Barclays downgrades to underweight
    

        * 
      UK election in focus
    

  
       July 3 (Reuters) - London stocks rebounded on Wednesday,
led by a rise in metal miners and renewed hopes of U.S. interest
rate cuts, but caution on the eve of UK parliamentary elections
capped further gains.
    The blue-chip FTSE 100  .FTSE  was up 0.5% after it closed
at a more than two-month low on Tuesday, while the mid-cap FTSE
250  .FTMC  added 0.4%, as of 0716 GMT.
    U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Tuesday said
that the country was on a "disinflationary path" but
policymakers need more data before cutting interest rates. 
    His comments bolstered hopes that the central bank will cut
rates sooner rather than later.
    Industrial  .FTNMX551020  metal miners led gains on the
benchmark with a 1.8% rise as copper prices ticked higher.
 MET/L 
    Most sectoral indexes traded higher, with the exception of
investment banking and brokerage stocks  .FTNMX302020  that fell
0.5%.
    Investors, however, exercised caution ahead of UK
parliamentary elections, due on Thursday, where Conservatives
look set to be replaced after 14 years of power, as per opinion
polls. 
    Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak kicked off the last day of
campaigning before the polls, each warning voters of dire
economic consequences if the other man wins.
    On the radar now are non-farm payrolls data in the U.S., due
on Friday, which will provide more clues on the Fed's monetary
policy path. 
    Among individual stocks, JD Sports  JD.L  sank to the bottom
of the FTSE 100 with a 3.7% decline after Barclays downgraded
the retailer to "underweight" from "equal-weight". 
    British tile retailer Topps Tiles  TPT.L  dropped 4.2% after
it said that challenging market conditions had persisted into
the second half of the fiscal year amid weakness in the home
repair and sales segments.

 (Reporting by Purvi Agarwal in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia
Cheema)
 ((Purvi.Agarwal@thomsonreuters.com;))
 
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