FTSE rises as miners IAG lead rally

The FTSE is putting its front foot forward this morning as miners rallied across the board following an increase in copper, silver and gold prices.

Airlines are also in the spot light after Ryanair profits beat forecasts and British Airways parent International Consolidated Airlines announced plans to buy Air Europa, Spain’s third-largest airline which connects Spain with parts of South America.

The airline sector is in a precarious position with high fuel costs and increasing wage demands making it very difficult for many airlines to remain profitable. Both Ryanair and IAG are cases in point, in different ways. Ryanair has cut costs so far that it is regularly in friction either with staff of passengers. Air Europa is on the other end of the scale being one of the many carriers struggling to make enough profit and therefore becoming a takeover target.

Mothercare shares plunges 28%

Mother and baby chain Mothercare which has been teetering on the verge of collapse for many months has dropped 28% after it said it is about to go into administration. The move does not come as much of a surprise because the firm lost £36.3m last year and this year’s results continued to show the same grim picture. The sale of its Early Learning Centre earlier this year was not sufficient to stave of a decline in profits and now the company may end up closing stores which remain after a cull earlier this year.

Sterling flat as election battle lines are drawn

UK parties are drawing their battle lines ahead of the election of December 12 with Nigel Farage offering a Brexit pact to Conservatives but then saying he will not stand as a candidate after the PM rejected his proposal.

Labour also shot its opening arrow with Jeremy Corbyn’s election speech followed up by an election rally in Bristol. For the moment the currency markets are taking everything with a pinch of salt and the pound is weakening against the euro and the dollar.

From time to time, StoneX Financial Pty Ltd (“we”, “our”) website may contain links to other sites and/or resources provided by third parties. These links and/or resources are provided for your information only and we have no control over the contents of those materials, and in no way endorse their content. Any analysis, opinion, commentary or research-based material on our website is for information and educational purposes only and is not, in any circumstances, intended to be an offer, recommendation or solicitation to buy or sell. You should always seek independent advice as to your suitability to speculate in any related markets and your ability to assume the associated risks, if you are at all unsure. No representation or warranty is made, express or implied, that the materials on our website are complete or accurate. We are not under any obligation to update any such material.

As such, we (and/or our associated companies) will not be responsible or liable for any loss or damage incurred by you or any third party arising out of, or in connection with, any use of the information on our website (other than with regards to any duty or liability that we are unable to limit or exclude by law or under the applicable regulatory system) and any such liability is hereby expressly disclaimed.

City Index is a trading name of StoneX Financial Pty Ltd.

The material provided herein is general in nature and does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs.

While every care has been taken in preparing this material, we do not provide any representation or warranty (express or implied) with respect to its completeness or accuracy. This is not an invitation or an offer to invest nor is it a recommendation to buy or sell investments.

StoneX recommends you to seek independent financial and legal advice before making any financial investment decision. Trading CFDs and FX on margin carries a higher level of risk, and may not be suitable for all investors. The possibility exists that you could lose more than your initial investment further CFD investors do not own or have any rights to the underlying assets.

It is important you consider our Financial Services Guide and Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) available at www.cityindex.com/en-au/terms-and-policies/, before deciding to acquire or hold our products. As a part of our market risk management, we may take the opposite side of your trade. Our Target Market Determination (TMD) is also available at www.cityindex.com/en-au/terms-and-policies/.

StoneX Financial Pty Ltd, Suite 28.01, 264 George Street, Sydney, NSW 2000 (ACN 141 774 727, AFSL 345646) is the CFD issuer and our products are traded off exchange.