Sector movers: Industrials metals stocks stumble on global worries

1st Nov 2011 16:26

The Greek referendum announcement and three lots of negative economic data sent miners into a spin on Tuesday.The industrial metals and mining sector was the worst performer of the day, with constituents losing an average of 7.56%. First Quantum Minerals, Talvivaara Mining and Ferrexpo were the worst performers in the sector.The decision by George Papandreou, the Greek Prime Minister, to hold a referendum on the details of the Greek bailout tortuously negotiated by Eurozone leaders, spurred a mass sell-off today as the outlook for the Eurozone worsens.Not helping things either was news that activity in both the UK and the Chinese manufacturing sectors fell to the lowest levels since early 2009. The UK Markit/CIPS manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) fell from 50.8 to 47.4 in October, while the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing's manufacturing PMI fell from 51.2 to 50.4. Also, the Manufacturing ISM Index, one of the best gauges of the health of the manufacturing sector in the US, gave a reading of 50.8% in October, less than the 52% figure analysts had been predicting and is 0.8% down on September. Meanwhile, iron ore demand is seen to be slipping. According to Bloomberg, steel-making in China is close to its least profitable level in nearly three years. Also, Clarkson Securities said that iron-ore swaps indicate that there may be no rebound in prices for at least another year.The household goods and home construction sector was the only sector making gains today, with heavyweight constituent Reckitt Benckiser among the few stocks on the FTSE 100 in the blue.The Cillit Bang and Clearasil maker announced saw shares tumble last Tuesday after its chief executive warned that revenue growth would slow in the fourth quarter. While the share prices partly recovered today, rising 1.66% to 3,251p by the close, it was still 2.37% down on the week.BCTop performing sectors so far todayHousehold Goods & Home Construction 6,307.59 +0.43%Bottom performing sectors so far todayIndustrial Metals & Mining 4,248.56 -7.56%Life Insurance 3,686.07 -5.81%Forestry & Paper 4,836.34 -5.47%Oil Equipment, Services & Distribution 21,171.07 -4.96%Financial Services 4,667.91 -4.95%