Commodity stocks surged ahead on the London market yesterday morning, buoyed by the weakening dollar and a rebound in the price of oil.
Mining giant Anglo American led the charge, rising 37.9p to £5.85, as Brent crude lifted 1.9% to $42.75 a barrel after falling earlier in the session.
But the FTSE 100 Index later edged down to finish 4.3 points lower on 6,200.1 as shares in house builders took a tumble amid growing gloom over the UK economy and a slowdown in London’s high-end property market.
Berkeley Group was the biggest faller, dropping £1.24 to £30, while Taylor Wimpey also weighed heavy on the market, slipping 6.4p to £1.79.
Tesco saw its share price climb 2.9p to £1.93 ahead of full-year results on Wednesday, as investors expect progress to be made on its turnaround plan.
The City expects the UK’s largest supermarket to reveal underlying full-year pre-tax profits down 3% to £932million, a vast improvement on the 68% fall it reported a year ago.
The pound was also up 0.8% against the dollar to 1.424, and up 0.8% against the euro at 1.24.
