Sector movers: Miners pace gains as dollar weakens on Trump

Steelmakers and miners found an unexpected ally at the start of the week in the form of a weaker US dollar in the wake of what a fair bit of market commentary appeared to label as a rather protectionist Inauguration Day speech by US President Donald Trump.

That drove a haven bid for sovereign bonds, US Treasuries included, which weighed on the greenback which at 1524 GMT was lower by 0.31% to 100.43.

In parallel, as of 1330 GMT three-month copper futures on the LME were edging higher by 0.2% to $5,748 a metric tonne, although prices of other bulk metals such as those for nickel and zinc were trading lower.

Antofagasta in particular was a high riser, albeit for a slightly different reason, as analysts at Citi upgraded their recommendation on the stock to a 'buy' with a 870p target.

The team of analysts led by Jatinder Goel told clients they expected the Chile-focused group to enjoy an 8% lower effective tax rate, which would translate into earnings per share upgrades of between 10% to 15%.

"The company should not incur withholding tax on dividend distribution from Chile through to the end of the decade," they explained.

However, the biggest percentage gainer in Mining was Hochschild after it announced it had reached an agreement with a local community at its Pallancata mine in Peru to allow the silver and gold mine to reopen this week.

Nevertheless, falling government bond yields cut both ways, as could be gleaned from falling shares of Banks.

Another big faller on Monday was BT Group. To take note of, in a research note sent to clients analysts at Jefferies said the UEFA Champions League rights auction was an opportunity for Sky to undermine BT Sport as a tool for retention and price-raising.

"Even if Sky bids high to win, more shareholders might accept FOX's offer as fair."

Top performing sectors so far today
Industrial Metals & Mining 2,268.73 +1.69%
Mining 16,608.23 +1.15%
Real Estate Investment & Services 2,432.62 +0.54%
Real Estate Investment Trusts 2,779.71 +0.50%
Household Goods & Home Construction 16,318.38 +0.42%

Bottom performing sectors so far today
Oil Equipment, Services & Distribution 16,285.91 -1.96%
Fixed Line Telecommunications 4,326.36 -1.64%
Banks 4,225.99 -1.54%
Mobile Telecommunications 4,551.84 -1.42%
Software & Computer Services 1,838.24 -1.38%