By Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch
MADRID (MarketWatch) -- London stocks were going nowhere fast on
Wednesday, with pressure coming from Royal Bank of Scotland Group
PLC , Royal Mail PLC and a flock of mining stocks as investors kept
a beady eye on potential tapering out of the U.S.
The FTSE 100 index was flat at 6,527.84, with gainers outpacing
decliners, but at the same time few big heavyweight gainers.
Shares of Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (RBS) fell nearly 2%
after the company announced its group finance director, Nathan
Bostock, will be stepping down.
"This move is the latest in an ever growing list of problems for
the 81%-government-owned bank and has come at a bad time during a
review of their strategy and operations which is due to be released
in February," Sam Fox, who works in financials sales, at Spread Ex,
said in a note.
Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LYG) fell 0.7% after the U.K.
Financial Conduct Authority said it has fined the bank's units --
Lloyds TSB Bank PLC and Bank of Scotland PLC -- 28 million pounds
($45.8 million) for sales incentive failings. It's the biggest-ever
fine imposed for such misconduct.
A string of mining stocks traded in the red, with Randgold
Resources Ltd off nearly 2%, BHP Billiton PLC (BHP) down 1.2%, Rio
Tinto PLC (RIO) falling 1.1% and Anglo American PLC off just under
1%.
Those losses came after Australia-based copper producer Oz
Minerals Ltd. sank 14% overnight after it reportedly released
weaker-than-expected guidance for output in 2014. Bloomberg
reported that those shares fell 25% at one point in Australia's
trading session, the biggest fall in over 20 years.
Away from the main index, shares of Royal Mail PLC fell 1.7%
after Nomura cut shares to reduce from neutral, saying it could
take time for the company's current restructuring plan to pay off
for shareholders. There is "much to be done in the next 3-4 years
in the face of falling letter volumes, competitive parcel markets
and a sizeable investment program," analysts said.
Otherwise investors were watching the U.S., where a budget deal
announced by U.S. lawmakers inspired some thinking among
strategists that a tapering by the U.S. Federal Reserve next week
could be more of a possibility. U.S. stock futures fell. The House
and Senate will still need to approve the deal, which sets federal
agency spending levels at $1.012 trillion for the current fiscal
year.
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