  FTSE 100 seen flat in early trade after Wall Street falls on housing starts update
Reported by Proactive Investors on Thursday, 19 November 2009 (on November 19, 2009)
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Overview: US stocks remained weak yesterday with all key indices ending the day in the red. The Dow Jones Industrial Average trimmed its early losses to 0.1%, while the broader S&P 500 index finished with a marginal gain and the technology heavy Nasdaq composite was down 0.5% at the end of the day. The markets were weakened by the housing update that was released before trading commenced yesterday, showing an unexpected fall in US housing starts, which fell 10.6% to an annualised rate of 529,000 against the expected 600,000.
Asian markets also were in a bearish mood as Hong Kong’s Hang Seng declined 1%, while Japan’s Nikkei shed 1.3% to retreat to four month closing lows. China’s Shanghai composite index was fluctuating around the opening level.
Oil prices declined slightly from yesterday’s highs. January Brent Crude was at US$79.60/barrel after reaching $80 yesterday, while US light, sweet crude for January delivery stood at US$80.16/barrel.
Precious metals remained strong as gold held steady at US$1,144/oz, platinum improved to US$1,447/oz and silver stood at US$18.54/oz.
Base metals were slightly lower. Copper and nickel retreated to US$3.11/lb and US$7.73/lb respectively, while zinc was fluctuating around US$1.01/lb.
The FTSE 100 is projected to start flat today after posting a loss of 4 points yesterday. Outsourcing company Capita Group (LSE: CPI) led the fallers with a 5.2% slide, while supermarket chain Morrison (LSE: MRW) followed after the announcement of the departure of its Chief Executive Marc Bolland, who will now serve as CEO of Marks & Spencer (LSE: MKS), which advanced almost 6% on the news to emerge as the leading riser in the FTSE 100.
Other notable fallers included heating and plumbing equipment manufacturer Wolseley (LSE: WOS) and Royal Bank of Scotland (LSE: RBS), which both lost 3.5%, as did telecom company Cable & Wireless (LSE: CW). Mobile operator Vodafone (LSE: VOD), retailer Sainsbury (LSE: SBRY) and fashion house Burberry (LSE: BRBY) followed with losses of about 2.5%.
Miners remained strong with Fresnillo (LSE: FRES), Xstrata (LSE: XTA) and Lonmin (LSE: LMI) following leader Marks & Spencer with gains of 4.9%, 4.8% and 3.6% respectively. Cobham (LSE: COB), which tacked on 2.7%, was the only other non-mining stock to make it to the leader board.
Investors will be expecting the British retail sales update that is due at 0930 GMT today.
Links: Full news story
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