Advertisement
Singapore markets closed
  • Straits Times Index

    3,224.01
    -27.70 (-0.85%)
     
  • Nikkei

    40,369.44
    +201.37 (+0.50%)
     
  • Hang Seng

    16,541.42
    +148.58 (+0.91%)
     
  • FTSE 100

    7,952.62
    +20.64 (+0.26%)
     
  • Bitcoin USD

    70,093.49
    -625.31 (-0.88%)
     
  • CMC Crypto 200

    885.54
    0.00 (0.00%)
     
  • S&P 500

    5,254.35
    +5.86 (+0.11%)
     
  • Dow

    39,807.37
    +47.29 (+0.12%)
     
  • Nasdaq

    16,379.46
    -20.06 (-0.12%)
     
  • Gold

    2,254.80
    +16.40 (+0.73%)
     
  • Crude Oil

    83.11
    -0.06 (-0.07%)
     
  • 10-Yr Bond

    4.2060
    +0.0100 (+0.24%)
     
  • FTSE Bursa Malaysia

    1,536.07
    +5.47 (+0.36%)
     
  • Jakarta Composite Index

    7,288.81
    -21.28 (-0.29%)
     
  • PSE Index

    6,903.53
    +5.36 (+0.08%)
     

London stocks hit fresh record; gold equities gain

London's FTSE 100 Index closed at a record high of 7106.08 points on December 28, 2016

A so-called Santa rally propelled London to its second straight record close Thursday as a rising gold price lifted mining stocks, but the Dow retreated further from its 20,000-point milestone. After spending most of the day in the red, London's blue-chip FTSE 100 index pushed higher in late trading to close up 0.2 percent at 7,120.26 points. Sentiment elsewhere was subdued, however, on the penultimate trading day of the year, with many traders away for festivities to usher in the New Year. London stocks often climb during thin trading between the Christmas and New Year holidays in an phenomenon called a "Santa rally." US equity markets also are prone to a rally in this slow period, marked by low volume. However, many analysts see fatigue among American investors following the big boost spurred by the US presidential elections, which led to multiple record closes in the last several weeks. "Stocks have done very well and there is a reallocation out of the winning asset, which is stocks, into the asset which has not done as well, which is bonds," said Nicholas Colas, chief market strategies at Convergex, a New York brokerage firm. Frankfurt and Paris each fell modestly, while Tokyo slumped 1.3 percent. Toshiba ended another torrid day plunging 17 percent, following the company's warning of a possible one-time loss of several billion dollars over its US nuclear business. Its stock has lost more than 40 percent since Tuesday, meaning the slide could take out a huge portion of its equity capital and force the company to seek funds from investors. London was led higher by shares in gold mining companies such as Fresnillo and Randgold Resources, both of which won more than four percent. Gold prices, which have been under pressure since the US elections, have rallied over the last few days. Gold shares also rose in New York, while several large US banks fell one percent or more, giving back some of the bounty following the elections. Oil prices fell after official US inventory data showed a surprise rise of 600,000 barrels in crude reserves, while the market had been expecting a 1.5-million-barrel drop in commercial crude stockpiles. The dollar retreated against the euro and other major currencies in a move attributed to profit taking. - Key figures around 2200 GMT - New York - Dow: DOWN 0.1 percent at 19,819.78 (close) New York - S&P 500: DOWN less than 0.1 percent at 2,249.26 (close) New York - Nasdaq: DOWN 0.1 percent at 5,432.09 (close) London - FTSE 100: UP 0.2 percent at 7,120.26 (close) Frankfurt - DAX 30: DOWN 0.2 percent at 11,451.05 (close) Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.2 percent at 4,838.47 (close) EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.3 percent at 3,268.21 Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.3 percent at 19,145.14 (close) Hong Kong - Hang Seng: UP 0.2 percent at 21,790.91 (close) Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.2 percent at 3,096.10 (close) Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0484 from $1.0416 Dollar/yen: DOWN at 116.63 yen from 117.22 yen Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2265 from $1.2227 Oil - West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 29 cents at $53.77 per barrel Oil - Brent North Sea: DOWN 08 cents at $56.14