London close: Markets finish lower, earnings in focus this week

22nd Jul 2013 16:38

The FTSE 100 finished slightly lower on Monday as upcoming corporate earnings came into focus on a quiet day for economic data worldwide.Michael Hewson, Senior Market Analyst at CMC Markets, said: "With markets trading at multi-week highs investors appear to be adopting a 'wait and see' approach after last week's big misses from Google and Microsoft in the US caused markets to question the sustainability of the recent rally in the context of future earnings growth potential."US-listed heavyweights Halliburton and McDonald's released results on Wall Street this afternoon - the former beat forecasts while the latter missed estimates - while Texas Instruments is due to report after the close. Figures from bellwether stocks Apple and Ford are due out later this week.On this side of the Pond, results and trading updates from a barrage of UK-listed heavyweights are also on the calendar for the next few days, including: ARM Holdings, GlaxoSmithKline, easyJet, Tate & Lyle, Rolls-Royce, Unilever, Reed Elsevier, SSE, Anglo American, BG Group and United Utilities.Limiting losses on European markets today was the news that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Liberal Democratic Party won a majority in the general elections in Japan, spurring hopes that he will push ahead with his promised reform programme to boost the economy. This is the first time in six years that the ruling party has had control over both the upper and lower houses of Japanese parliament.FTSE 100: Precious metal miners gain; Glaxo fallsPrecious metals peers Randgold and Fresnillo were standout risers today as gold and silver prices rose strongly on the back of a weaker dollar, with the stocks continuing to recover after recent falls. Randgold received an extra boost by Morgan Stanley which raised its target price for the stock from 4,600p to 4,900p and kept an 'overweight' position. The US bank said the company "looks well positioned to continue to outperform in the current environment".GlaxoSmithKline was out of favour as the pharmaceuticals giant continues to feel the pressure from an investigation into allegations of bribery and corruption in China. The company, which has not admitted any wrongdoing, is due to present its interim results on Wednesday.Pharma peer AstraZeneca was also lower on the back of news that one of its employees has been detained by the Public Security Bureau in Shanghai; however the firm said it has no reason to believe it is related to the Glaxo investigation. BG Group's shares rallied after the British government unveiled plans to offer tax breaks for producers of shale gas.FTSE 250: Essar shines after Citi upgradeIndia-focused energy group Essar Energy was in demand after Citigroup upgraded its rating to 'buy', saying it was well placed to benefit from changes to the energy industry in India.SOCO International's shares advanced after saying it encountered about 117 metres of net pay section in the H5 fault block of the Te Giac Trang oil field, offshore in the South China Sea.LED technology company Dialight was also a high riser after its first-half results came in above analysts' estimates owing to the strong performance of the Lighting division. Bumi plc fell sharply after returning to trading today, three months after the Indonesian coal producer requested it be suspended on the London Stock Exchange.Gold mining peers Kenmare, African Barrick Gold and Polymetal were tracking the price of the precious metal higher.FTSE 100 - RisersRandgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 4,777.00p +5.57%Fresnillo (FRES) 1,064.00p +3.40%Anglo American (AAL) 1,405.00p +1.89%BT Group (BT.A) 343.20p +1.51%G4S (GFS) 220.00p +1.43%BG Group (BG.) 1,222.50p +1.33%Imperial Tobacco Group (IMT) 2,208.00p +1.28%Barclays (BARC) 324.00p +1.25%Schroders (SDR) 2,537.00p +1.16%Aggreko (AGK) 1,833.00p +0.99%FTSE 100 - FallersBurberry Group (BRBY) 1,504.00p -1.96%SSE (SSE) 1,605.00p -1.65%Compass Group (CPG) 882.00p -1.62%United Utilities Group (UU.) 716.50p -1.51%Tate & Lyle (TATE) 846.00p -1.51%Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,377.00p -1.36%WPP (WPP) 1,184.00p -1.33%Glencore Xstrata (GLEN) 269.00p -1.25%GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,694.00p -1.22%Reed Elsevier (REL) 805.50p -1.10%FTSE 250 - RisersKenmare Resources (KMR) 27.50p +8.95%Dialight (DIA) 1,145.00p +6.51%African Barrick Gold (ABG) 112.60p +5.53%Soco International (SIA) 377.20p +5.10%Chemring Group (CHG) 313.00p +4.96%Polymetal International (POLY) 624.50p +4.61%Barr (A.G.) (BAG) 570.00p +4.40%Essar Energy (ESSR) 141.40p +4.20%Computacenter (CCC) 518.00p +3.81%Lonmin (LMI) 307.10p +3.65%FTSE 250 - FallersBumi (BUMI) 237.00p -8.60%Diploma (DPLM) 595.50p -3.56%Menzies(John) (MNZS) 722.00p -3.28%UBM (UBM) 684.00p -2.49%Informa (INF) 494.50p -1.79%Tullett Prebon (TLPR) 360.70p -1.74%Home Retail Group (HOME) 153.60p -1.48%Micro Focus International (MCRO) 748.00p -1.45%Redrow (RDW) 246.10p -1.44%BH Global Ltd. USD Shares (BHGU) 11.6 -1.44%BC