Sector movers: Miners again main drag as metals' prices soften

Miners were again the main drag on a mixed day for UK stocks as industrial metals' prices fell back.

Analysts at SP Angel attributed weakness in the latter to news that protestors in Peru had lifted blockades that had been hampering MMG's Las Bambas and Glencore's Antapaccay mine.

The prospect of higher interest rates was also cited as a factor.

Three-month LME copper futures slipped 0.96% to $9,112.0 per metric tonne.

Aluminium, zinc and tin were all lower by over 2% alongside.

And with the US dollar retaining a bid throughout the second half of the session, gold and silver futures also softened.

Going the other way, Aerospace was in the lead as shares of Rolls Royce bounded back towards their best levels since late 2021.

Earlier, the engineer had posted a statutory full-year operating profit of £837m in 2022, up from £513m a year earlier. Revenue grew to £13.5bn from £11.2bn.

Worth noting, IAG was due to announce its own results the next day with investors likely to be focusing on its capacity figures and outlook for the same.

Big Oil rebounded alongside crude oil futures with the latter adding 1.89% to $82.49 a barrel on the ICE after reaching oversold levels.

Top performing sectors so far today

Aerospace and Defence 5,777.66 +5.15%

Oil, Gas and Coal 8,875.41 +1.47%

Electronic & Electrical Equipment 9,632.04 +1.39%

Industrial Transportation 3,980.12 +1.30%

Travel & Leisure 7,386.37 +1.16%

Bottom performing sectors so far today

Pharmaceuticals & Biotechnology 21,112.63 -2.04%

Precious Metals and Mining 10,280.02 -1.87%

Telecommunications Service Providers 2,485.67 -1.63%

Industrial Metals & Mining 7,419.81 -1.60%

Personal Care, Drug and Grocery Stores 4,200.68 -1.19%