Sector movers: Stocks mixed amid political uncertainty

It was a mixed day out on the FTSE 350 amid losses for both cyclicals and defensives amid the ongoing political uncertainty ahead of elections on either side of the Channel.

"European markets have risen off the lows of last week but there’s little enthusiasm among investors for the region given the prevailing political uncertainty," said IG chief market analyst Chris Beauchamp.

"Dip buyers, particularly in French stocks, may well opt to wait until after the election. While the UK is free of such uncertainty, for now it has been lumped into the same pile, an early rally for the FTSE 100 rapidly fizzling out this morning."

Over in the US, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite were continuing to push higher, with the latter possibly helped by news of higher year-end targets out of Evercore ISI and Goldman Sachs.

However, there was much market commentary to be seen regarding the reduction in the breadth of the advances and the risks that posed.

Weakness among industrial miners was likely the result of softer-than-expected Chinese industrial production and fixed asset investment numbers for the month of May.

Overnight, the National Bureau of Statistics reported a 5.6% rise in industrial production in the Asian giant (consensus: 6.2%) after a 6.7% gain in April.

Shares of Aston Martin Lagonda meanwhile fell, despite positive comments out of analysts at Jefferies.

"Recent weakness in demand at the high end of the car market is a concern but AML's volume ambitions are well within the brand's historic volume," they said in a research note sent to clients.

Low inventory levels at dealerships and positive feedback on new products supported new-model ramp ups, they said.

Nevertheless, the analysts did trim their target for the shares from 275.0p to 250.0p.

Top performing sectors so far today

Non-life Insurance 3,574.54 +1.81%

Leisure Goods 24,054.70 +1.43%

Industrial Transportation 4,076.05 +1.22%

Banks 4,206.50 +0.75%

Construction & Materials 10,232.18 +0.69%

Bottom performing sectors so far today

Automobiles & Parts 1,103.91 -1.64%

Electricity 10,383.22 -1.49%

Gas, Water & Multiutilities 5,574.69 -1.18%

Retailers 3,852.36 -0.95%

Industrial Metals & Mining 6,635.42 -0.93%