LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Miners were again the main drag on the stock market on a mixed day for industrial metals' prices as traders waited on the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision and policy guidance on Wednesday evening.
That was despite comments from Chinese President Xi Jinping overnight in which he doubled down on a push on consumption to drive economic growth.

In parallel, his number two, Li Keqiang, stated that boosting consumption was key in expanding domestic demand.

Also worth noting, analysts at JP Morgan reiterated their 'underweight' view for shares of Rio Tinto, pointing the fact that on 6.5 EV/EBITDA it was expensive relative to its sector peers.

"We reiterate the positive effects of China re-opening and policy support on industrial metals demand, but our analysis differentiates a more cautious outlook for iron ore across 2023 ($101/93/t 2023/24E)," they said in a research note sent to clients.

AstraZeneca added to the selling pressure, possibly as a result of the recent more bullish tone to equity markets globally.

Vodafone was another source of weakness, this time in the telecoms services space, after announcing a decline in its third quarter sales.

Top performing sectors so far today

Construction & Materials 7,874.81 +1.61%

General Industrials 6,641.42 +1.14%

Chemicals 12,605.24 +1.01%

Household Goods & Home Construction 11,403.01 +0.85%

Industrial Transportation 3,893.39 +0.82%

Bottom performing sectors so far today

Pharmaceuticals & Biotechnology 19,798.93 -2.13%

Retailers 3,323.45 -1.89%

Telecommunications Service Providers 2,298.47 -1.56%

Leisure Goods 23,046.17 -1.49%

Industrial Metals & Mining 8,079.52 -1.09%

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