Sector movers: Price action retains defensive air

Some of the more defensive areas of the market figured prominently on the leaderboard as the weekend neared, despite a bounce in stocks amid news that China and the US were restarting trade talks and a better tone in emerging markets as the Turkish lira extended its recent rally into a third day.

Nevertheless, Marshalls did help to push Construction stocks, a cyclical segment of the market, higher on Thursday.

For the half-year to 30 June, the landscape products group posted slightly better-than-expected pre-tax profits of £32.5m, for a year-on-year gain of 12%, despite unusually cold winter weather.

In particular, investors cheered the company's strong top-line growth of 21% over June and July, prompting some analysts to say that risks were tilted to the upside.

Interest rate-sensitive Telecommunications and Tobacco also did well, with British American Tobacco likely also impacted by the rally in the lira given its exposure to that Mediterranean country.

Smurfit-Kappa meanwhile helped General Industrials advance as its stock moved back towards within a whisker of its five-year highs.

Industrial Metals&Mining were at the bottom-of-the-pile once again, as investors continued to push Footsie high-flyer Evraz back towards its 200-day moving average.

In the background, and regarding the outlook for markets, strategists at Bank of America-Merrill Lynch were pointing out to clients how the US S&P 500 was just four trading days away from entering into its longest 'bull' market ever.

However, there were plenty of global 'bear' markets in bond, commodity and equity markets about, they said.

Hence, until the US central bank 'blinked' and the People's Republic of China eased policy in a big manner, they preferred retaining defensive, bearish trades.

Top performing sectors so far today

Construction & Materials 6,287.01 +2.42%

Tobacco 46,529.50 +1.74%

Fixed Line Telecommunications 2,606.07 +1.68%

Food & Drug Retailers 4,294.80 +1.57%

Health Care Equipment & Services 7,802.46 +1.46%

Bottom performing sectors so far today

Industrial Metals & Mining 4,174.07 -4.82%

Automobiles & Parts 10,716.61 -1.12%

Industrial Engineering 12,954.36 -0.24%

Alternative Energy 0.00 0.00%

Alternative Investment Instruments NULL 0.00%