Miners lift FTSE amid talk of ENRC takeover
MINERS dug deep to help lift Britain’s FTSE 100 share index marginally yesterday, as bid talk swirled around Kazakh miner ENRC.
ENRC rose 4.7 per cent, outperforming a 0.2-per cent rise on the British mining index, after the Sunday Times said commodities trader Glencore was considering a £12bn takeover bid.
ENRC shares have been savaged recently, down almost 24 per cent since mid-April to Friday’s close, as a corporate governance crisis at the company has sapped investor confidence.
ENRC shareholder Kazakhmys, also weaker in the previous session, added 2.2 per cent.
Separately, Kazakhmys secured a $1.5bn loan from China to help develop one of its copper fields, prompting Evolution Securities to repeat its “add” rating on the stock.
The FTSE 100 closed up 7.66 points, or 0.1 per cent, at 5,773.46, in thin volumes, having dropped 1.6 per cent on Friday and ending below the 5,800 level for the first time since late March.
“The index needs to post a weekly close back above (its 200-day moving average of around 5,835) to stabilise in the near term, while on the down side the index currently has trend line support at 5,750 from its 2009 lows at 3,460.70,” Michael Hewson, market analyst at CMC Markets, said.
The underlying mood in the market remained cautious, with investors pressured by concerns over a sluggish global economic recovery after a run of downbeat US economic data, with inflation data out of both the UK and US today. Fears over a sovereign default in the Eurozone also lingered.