London stocks rebound on boost from metal miners ahead of UK elections (updated)

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03/07/2024 09:26

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      FTSE 100, FTSE 250 up 0.4% each
    

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      Copper miners lead gains 
    

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      JD Sports falls after Barclays downgrades to underweight
    

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      UK election in focus
    

  
 (.)
    By Purvi Agarwal
       July 3 (Reuters) - London stocks rebounded on Wednesday,
led by 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 0.4%, as of 0800 GMT,
after closing at a more than two-month low in the previous
session, while the mid-cap FTSE 250  .FTMC  gained 0.4%.
    U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on Tuesday the
country was on a "disinflationary path" but policymakers need
more data before cutting rates. 
    His comments bolstered hopes that the Fed will cut rates
sooner rather than later.
    Industrial metal miners  .FTNMX551020  led gains, rising
1.8%, tracking copper prices higher.  MET/L 
    Most sectoral sub-indexes traded higher, with the exception
of investment banking and brokerage stocks  .FTNMX302020  that
fell 0.5%.
    The market's focus is now on UK's parliamentary elections on
Thursday, where Conservatives look set to be replaced after 14
years in power, as per opinion polls. 
    "If they (Labour) get a decent majority, they will be able
to undertake what they call radical change, (that is) basically
stability. I think that's why markets haven't hugely reacted
going into it," said Indriatti Van Hien, a UK equities portfolio
manager at Janus Henderson Investors.
    She also pointed to the polls not having an effect on the
Bank of England's rate cut timeline.
    On the radar is also 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  hit the bottom of
the FTSE 100 index, dropping 3.7%, after Barclays downgraded the
retailer to "Underweight" from "Equal-weight". 
    Topps Tiles  TPT.L  dropped 4.2% after the British tile
retailer said 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 and Rashmi Aich)
 ((Purvi.Agarwal@thomsonreuters.com;))
 
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