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FTSE preview: Miners fall on China rate hike

By Reuters
Updated: 03:07 EDT, 29 December 2010

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The FTSE 100 is seen opening 27-32 points, or 0.5% lower on Wednesday, according to financial bookmakers, catching up with global markets after the long holiday break, with miners expected to lead the decline following a rate hike by China.

Dealers monitor their screens on the trading floor of IG Index in London

Quiet day: Trading is expected to be thin.

Concerns over the demand outlook should weigh on miners following China's move on Christmas Day to raise interest rates by a quarter-point, the second rise in just over two months to help cap surging inflation.

Energy shares, however, could prove resilient as crude prices hover near a 26-month high above $91 a barrel on hopes that a blizzard on the US East Coast will boost demand for heating oil, with US inventory data awaited.

Britain's top shares closed above the 6,000 level for the first time since June 2008 on Friday, ending up 12.85 points, or 0.2% at 6,008.92, albeit in wafer thin trade ahead of the holidays.

The blue chip index is up 8.4% so far this month, the strongest December performance since 1987 when it rose 8.5%, and it is on course to register an 11% advance overall in 2010 after a roller-coaster year.

On the macro front, house prices in England and Wales fell for a sixth consecutive month in December to stand 1.6% lower than a year ago, property data firm Hometrack said on Monday.

No domestic data is due for release on Wednesday, with December's Nationwide December house prices survey the only economic pointer expected this week, on Friday Dec. 31.

Across the Atlantic, the latest weekly US mortgage and refinancing index is due. No British corporate news is scheduled for release on Wednesday.

Ex-dividend factors will take 1.08 points off the FTSE 100 index, with Alliance Trust, BT Group, Burberry Group and Experian all losing their payout attractions.

Anglo American said on Wednesday heavy rains over the last several days have impacted coal production at its Dawson mine in Australia's Queensland state.

State pension funds in Ohio and New York were named lead plaintiffs in a shareholder suit against BP that alleges losses due to the Gulf Coast oil spill, according to a US district court ruling.

Most UK retailers are expecting lower sales in 2011 on the back of weak consumer demand and inflationary pressures, a survey by the British Retail Consortium said on Monday.

Meanwhile, almost a quarter less shoppers turned out for Britain's traditional Boxing Day retail sales this year compared with last year, a survey by Synovate Retail Performance said on Monday.

However, British retailer John Lewis said on Tuesday it had registered a record day of sales for a single day's trade earlier this week.

Astrazeneca has halted studies on MEDI-578, which treats nerve growth, to assess data on the product further.

The US Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday warned orthopedic device maker Smith & Nephew that it failed to establish adequate manufacturing validation procedures for a hip replacement device.

India's Tata Steel, the largest shareholder in Africa-focused miner Riversdale Mining has not yet decided whether to bid for the company, the Indian firm's managing director said late Monday.

An ICM opinion poll published on Monday, commissioned by a group of rival media firms, said there is strong public support for an independent investigation into News Corp's bid for BSkyB, newspapers said on Monday.

BAE Systems is poised to win a £1.3bn contract to supply advanced jet fighters to Oman, The Sunday Times said.

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