Sector movers: Macquarie delivers boost for miners

Media and mining stocks paced gains at the start of the week.

Advertising colossus WPP reported that quarterly revenues grew 23.4%, with over 15 percentage points of that growth rate coming from currency translation effects as the pound weakened.

Indeed, LFL net sales growth was 2.8% compared with 3.8% in the first half.

Mining stocks on the other hand were boosted by a raft of upwards target price revisions on miners out of analysts from Macquarie.

That was the result of the Australian broker´s decision to upgrade its coal price deck.

Despite the Chinese National Development and Reform Commission´s decision to relax controls on coal production at 800 mines, it would take time for output to rise due to below average inventory levels and the coming winter in the Northern Hemisphere, Macquarie said in a research note sent to clients and dated 28 October.

The broker upped its target price on shares of Anglo American (from 815p to 1175p), of BHP Billiton (from 1360p to 1470p), of Glencore (from 200p to 250p), of Rio Tinto (from 3400p to 3500p), of South 32 from 180p to 210p and of Anglo Pacific (from 150p to 200p).

Big Oil and pharma and biotech stocks were the biggest losers, with the former sent reeling by news that a technical meeting of OPEC over the weekend had failed to reach an agreement on how to split the necessary output cuts between its members.

In turn, that stymied attempts to reach a deal with producers from outside the cartel for them to cut their own levels of output.

That saw front month Brent crude futures slide 3.11% to $48.21 per barrel as of 1631 BST on the ICE.

Shire was unwanted heading into its quarterly results scheduled for release the next day, as traders continued to factor-in the poor outlook for pricing by rivals in the States as a result of increased political scrutiny over how they set prices.

Shares of US-listed Amgen were a case in point, the biotech giant´s stock plummeted on 28 October its management told investors the firm would not be able to increase prices in 2017 for its best drug, Enbrel.

Top performing sectors so far today
Media 7,402.29 +0.96%
Automobiles & Parts 7,432.71 +0.86%
Mining 13,853.18 +0.65%
Industrial Transportation 3,041.60 +0.40%
Gas, Water & Multiutilities 6,403.74 +0.37%

Bottom performing sectors so far today
Technology Hardware & Equipment 966.99 -3.58%
Oil & Gas Producers 7,783.19 -2.02%
Food & Drug Retailers 3,118.46 -1.52%
Mobile Telecommunications 5,029.03 -1.27%
Pharmaceuticals & Biotechnology 13,786.31 -1.16%