Jim Cramer's Mad Money Review

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Saturday, November 25, 2006

FTSE, Stock Fall on Weak U.S. Dollar

The FTSE 100 index .FTSE fell 0.3 percent on Friday after a plunge in the U.S. dollar hit stocks, but Scottish & Southern Energy (SSE.L: Quote, Profile, Research) and other utilities rose on continued bid talk and helped markets end above the lows. Banks were among the main losers as traders expressed concern about the translation of dollar-denominated profits back into sterling. Shares in Barclays (BARC.L: Quote, Profile, Research) fell 1.1 percent and Standard Chartered (STAN.L: Quote, Profile, Research) fell 0.7 percent. The FTSE 100 closed down 17.9 points, or 0.3 percent, to 6,122.1, after Wall Street fell in early trade, but reversing much of its earlier decline as bid talk lifted some stocks. Mining stocks fell on the lower U.S. dollar, although higher base metals mitigated the impact. Rio Tinto (RIO.L: Quote, Profile, Research) slipped 0.3 percent while Kazakhmys (KAZ.L: Quote, Profile, Research) fell 0.3 percent and Xstrata (XTA.L: Quote, Profile, Research) lost 0.6 percent. Insurers were among other standout decliners as sector bid speculation faded. Shares in Prudential (PRU.L: Quote, Profile, Research) fell 1.9 percent and those in Old Mutual (OML.L: Quote, Profile, Research) slipped 1.6 percent. General retailers were weak. Kingfisher (KGF.L: Quote, Profile, Research) slipped 2.9 percent on a Deutsche Bank downgrade, the broker's note saying that the group's B&Q stores' profits were unlikely to rebound as fast as the market expects.
Source: Reuters.com

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