LONDON MARKETS: FTSE 100 Lower As Iron-ore Slump Puts Pressure On Miners
November 30 2015 - 4:38AM
Dow Jones News
By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
Potential monthly gain checked
U.K. stocks fell Monday, with mining shares again under pressure
as iron-ore prices slumped, keeping the FTSE 100's potential gain
for the month in check.
The FTSE 100 lost 0.4% to 6,352.13, with only a handful of
shares able to advance. Among these, InterContinental Hotels Group
PLC (IHG) rose 1.3% after a Telegraph newspaper report that three
Chinese suitors have expressed interest in bidding for the Holiday
Inn chain operator.
The blue-chip benchmark was moving toward a modest gain of 0.1%
for November.
Miners have put pressure on the FTSE 100 throughout the month as
prices for copper, gold and other metals fell to multi-year lows.
Gold futures were on track Monday for their worst monthly
performance since June 2013.
Iron-ore prices fell below $40 a tonne in Singapore trade
overnight, according to reports.
Shares of iron ore heavyweight BHP Billiton PLC (BLT.LN)
(BHP.AU) (BHP.AU) dropped 4.6%, languishing at their lowest level
since November 2008. Rival Rio Tinto PLC (RIO)(RIO) (RIO) lost
1.4%.
BHP said it hasn't yet been formally notified of a civil lawsuit
the Brazilian government plans to file
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/bhp-no-suit-yet-from-brazil-over-dam-spill-2015-11-30)
against it, miner Vale SA (VALE5.BR) and the Samarco Mineracao SA
joint venture with Vale. The lawsuit is expected to center on a
massive dam break earlier this month, which a United Nations report
said unleashed an avalanche of toxic mud
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/bhp-vale-jv-dam-break-unleashed-toxic-waste-un-2015-11-26).
Other miners were under pressure Monday, with copper producer
Antofagasta PLC (ANTO.LN) down 2%, Glencore PLC (GLEN.LN) lower by
1.7%, and Anglo American PLC (AAL.LN) off 1.8%.
Elsewhere on the FTSE 100, Aberdeen Asset Management PLC
(ADN.LN) fell 3.4% as the company reported
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/aberdeen-asset-profit-up-despite-tough-conditions-2015-11-30)
a rise in full-year net profit during a tough conditions in Asian
and emerging markets.
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 30, 2015 04:23 ET (09:23 GMT)
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