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Poor day for FTSE after a strong opening ; FTSE 100 [Newcastle Journal (England)](Newcastle Journal (England) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) UK shares had a poor day on Thursday, despite opening strongly on the back of a fairly dovish set of US Federal Reserve minutes. The FTSE 250 closed down 0.82% at 14811.3, alongside the FTSE 100, which ended the day down 0.78% at 6431.9. Despite the FTSE 100 ending down, the mining sector had a strong day following a period of weakness in the commodities markets. The dovish US Fed minutes knocked the US Dollar, causing gold prices to bounce and equities to rise. Fresnillo and Rio Tinto ended the day rising 6.4% and 2.1% respectively. Randgold Resources ended the day on the largest gain rising 6.1% on the day. The mining giant received an extra boost as their stock was upgraded to a 'Buy' recommendation by Numis Securities. However, the investment house stands by its defensive stance on the overall mining sector based on the falling price of iron ore. Vodafone ended the day as one of the FTSE 100 casualties, trading down 3.4% at 197.35p. The mobile telecommunications giant was downgraded by analysts on Nomura on Wednesday on the back of concerns over the increasing competition in many of Vodafone's key markets. Royal Dutch Shell also ended the day down, as the Danish toy-brick maker Lego ended its decades long co-branding relationship with the oil company. The move comes amid pressure from environmental group Greenpeace. Royal Dutch Shell ended the day down 2.07% at 2328.4759p. The Journal North index saw Vianet jump 0.59%. The company released its first half trading statement, where they announced they were maintaining the interim dividend at 1.7p. The company saw strong progress and profits in the vending telemetry market, particularly with its coffee products. [email protected] (c) 2014 ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved. |