Sector movers: Defensives hit as US data triggers fresh rise in bond yields
Interest-rate sensitive Telecommunications and Electricity bore the brunt of selling in UK equities on Thursday, as the latest US jobless claims data surprised to the downside, pushing government bond yields on both sides of the Pond up to within a whisker of their 52-week highs.
According to the US Department of Labor, initial unemployment claims for the week ending on 20 February slumped by an outsized 111,000 to reach 730,000 (consensus: 875,000).
While far better than the print expected by the market consensus, Ian Shepherdson at Pantheon Macroeconomics believed that it had been distorted by the previous week's "huge" storm.
But even if the underlying trend was about flat, he expected it to soon "start to trend downwards".
Worth noting, a reading on monthly US durable goods orders published alongside had also surprised to the upside.
Top performing sectors so far today
Automobiles & Parts 4,917.93 +3.73%
Industrial Metals & Mining 6,009.91 +2.85%
Mining 26,034.89 +1.67%
Oil & Gas Producers 5,263.75 +1.26%
Aerospace and Defence 3,610.96 +0.61%
Bottom performing sectors so far today
Fixed Line Telecommunications 1,537.04 -2.43%
Electricity 8,118.06 -2.05%
Beverages 22,866.55 -1.33%
Health Care Equipment & Services 6,191.70 -1.29%
Travel & Leisure 8,879.83 -1.17%