Sector movers: Miners hit as US dollar drops back to end-January lows

As of 1617 GMT, May 2017 copper futures traded on COMEX were off by 1.82% to $2.6185 a pound, alongside a 0.71% drop in the US dollar spot index to 99.698.

Similarly-dated nickel futures on the LME was off 0.9% at $10,165 per metric tonne and those for zinc by 0.6% to $2,864.00 a tonne.

That saw shares in Anglo American fall 2.82% and those in Vedanta fall 3.97%.

Stoking selling in the Greenback was news overnight that French independent centrist presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron had come out on top in the first of three televised debates in the euro area's second largest economy.

Until now, uncertainty around the potential result of elections in Holland, France and Germany had been seen as capping any strength in the euro.

Furthermore, during the previous session investors were asked to digest news of a less trade-friendly outcome to the G-20 finance ministers meeting over the weekend in Baden-Baden, Germany.

"When markets turn, it is always easy to find a cause. Things that seemingly didn’t matter just hours ago suddenly get flagged up as the exact reason why stocks are moving lower. They aren’t exactly in freefall, but the quick turn lower this afternoon has certainly spooked an investment community that had become accustomed, however reluctantly, to a steady, attritional grind higher," said Chris Beauchamp at IG.

The results of the widely-followed Bank of America-Merrill Lynch Fund Managers Survey had shown record numbers of investors believed global equities (net 34%) and US stocks (net 81%) in particular were now overvalued.

To take note of perhaps, only a net 10% of fund managers canvassed expected the US Congress to approve a tax reform bill before the summer recess in August.

Iron ore futures also came under pressure in overnight trading in China, while spot prices for the Tianjin benchmark retreated from $87.9 a tonne to $84.6 a tonne.

Understandably, stock in BHP Billiton was down 4.15% and that in Rio Tinto by 4.22%.

Chinese steel rebar futures dropped from $579.4 a tonne to $578.0 overnight, weighing on the likes of Evraz.

Precious metals miners acted as a partial offset, as April 2017 COMEX gold futures capitalised on weakness in the greenback, rising 0.78% to trade at $1,243.60/oz..

Top performing sectors so far today
Gas, Water & Multiutilities 6,251.44 +0.61%
Oil Equipment, Services & Distribution 15,546.45 +0.40%
Insurance (non-life) 2,863.66 +0.20%
Industrial Transportation 3,049.74 +0.07%
Alternative Energy 0.00 0.00%

Bottom performing sectors so far today
Industrial Metals & Mining 2,369.13 -4.59%
Mining 16,170.89 -3.31%
Industrial Engineering 11,364.95 -1.91%
Fixed Line Telecommunications 3,755.39 -1.75%
Electronic & Electrical Equipment 5,415.56 -1.64%