U.K. Mining Stocks, Rio Tinto Fall; Standard Chartered Gains
U.K. mining stocks including Rio Tinto Group and Kazakhmys Plc fell as copper and other metal prices declined. Standard Chartered Plc, the bank that makes two- thirds of its profit in Asia, rose.
The FTSE 100 Index dropped 0.1 percent to 5,874.10 as of 1:38 p.m. in London. The measure is also little changed for the week, headed for a decline of 0.1 percent. The FTSE All-Share rose less than 0.1 percent, to 3001.85.
Ireland’s ISEQ Overall Index added 0.1 percent to 8031.04, poised for a gain of 0.8 percent this week.
Rio Tinto, the world’s third-largest mining company, retreated 2.6 percent to 2,455 pence. Kazakhmys, a Kazakh copper miner, dropped 2.7 percent to 1,210 pence. Vedanta Resources Plc, which runs Zambia’s biggest copper mines, lost 1.8 percent to 1,219 pence.
Copper prices in London fell as much as 1.4 percent on concern that domestic supplies of the metal will rise. Nickel, zinc and aluminum also dropped.
Standard Chartered climbed 1.1 percent to 1,339 pence. UBS AG raised a recommendation on the shares to “buy” from “neutral,” citing the outlook for earnings growth at the bank.
In London’s Alternative Investment Market for smaller- capitalization stocks, shares of AeroBox Plc were suspended from trading. The U.K. maker of air-freight containers said its operating unit will file for bankruptcy protection in the U.S. next week as its financing options “have now been exhausted.”
The following stocks also rose or fell in U.K. and Irish markets. Stock symbols are in parentheses:
Aveva Group Plc (AVV LN) soared 128.75 pence, or 34 percent, to 510. The U.K. developer of software used in ship design said its full-year results will beat previous expectations because it is experiencing “unprecedented demand for its products and services.”
Biotrace International Plc (BOI LN), a U.K. maker of microbiology products, surged 17.5 pence, or 18 percent, to 115.5. The company said it may get a takeover offer after receiving an approach from an unidentified suitor.
ISoft Plc (IOT LN) lost 2.25 pence, or 4.6 percent, to 46.75. The software maker, whose customers include the U.K. National Health Service, failed to receive a multimillion-pound advance from the Department of Health in April as it tried to avoid financial collapse, the Guardian newspaper reported, without citing anybody.
Woolworths Group Plc (WLW LN), which sells products ranging from children’s clothes to DVDs, increased 0.75 pence, or 2.2 percent, to 35 pence. UBS AG reverted to a “neutral” rating on shares in the retailer, after downgrading the stock to “reduce” earlier this month. The brokerage included the value of a dividend payment in the expected returns for the shares.
