Sector movers: Tech, mining stocks drag London market lower

The aftereffects of Apple’s poor results on technology stocks and ongoing commodities market melee dragged the London market lower on Wednesday.

The FTSE 100 closed down 1.50% or 101.73 at 6667.34, while the FTSE 250 closed down 110.24 or 0.62% at 17645.65 with technology (down 5.47%), mining (down 4.64%) and metals (down 4.27%) sectors taking an absolute battering.

Technology stocks were led lower by ARM Holding which shed 69p or 6.64% to 970p, as the London quoted tech companies felt the aftermath of a poor set of results from Apple.

Meanwhile, mining and metal companies slipped back into negative territory as the commodities market melee continued unabated. Gold and platinum slipped again in European trading on Wednesday, while oil appeared to be stabilising with Brent well shy of the $60 equilibrium level most global producers are currently pining for.

At 16:12 BST, COMEX gold notched another low at $1,091.40 down $12.10 or 1.10%, tumbling back down to five-year lows, while spot gold was trading at $1,095.89 down $5.36 or 0.49%.

Platinum fell yet again in the face of low demand and plenty of stockpiles shedding 75 cents or 0.08% to $977.55, ensuring the previous session was little more than a temporary reprieve. However, silver marginally managed to stay in positive territory up 0.03% or 1 cent to $14.79 an ounce.

Additionally, industrial metals market continued to send mixed signals with equal flashes of red and green. Past the midway point in trading on the London Metal Exchange, primary aluminium (up 0.5%) and tin (up 1.0%) were up, while zinc, nickel and lead were broadly flat.

That left a plethora of mining stocks feeling the heat, with blue chips BHP Billiton (down 5.71%), Anglo American (down 5.59%) and Glencore (down 5.59%) making up three of the biggest FTSE 100 fallers of the session. Evraz and Kaz Minerals were both down by 4.27% to find their place in the biggest midcap fallers.

A lacklustre oil market with Brent well shy of $60, and the domino effect of a commodities downturn on engineering stocks meant both sectors also finished in the red. Engineering headline stocks index was down 2.30% while and oil producers were down 2.27%.

Weir Group, which shed 5.37%, was the biggest engineering stock to fall, while Tullow Oil bagged that dubious honour for oil and gas stocks.