Source: Sharecast
The FTSE 100 was up 0.1% at 9,224.80.
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: "US indices may have clawed their way to new record highs last Friday and the Nikkei 225 bounced back on Monday, but UK stocks were held back by weakness in the telecoms, retail and airline sector.
"The mining sector was in demand, particularly precious metal producers after gold hit a new record. The traditional safe-haven asset is benefiting from hopes for further rate cuts as well as continuing geopolitical uncertainty, big government debt in the developed world, and demand from central banks.
"US futures prices indicate Wall Street will open lower and investors will be watching closely for any fall-out in the technology sector from the sharp rise in H1-B visa fees - affecting skilled foreign workers."
Mould said the big market-moving announcement this week is likely to be the US PCE inflation report, which is always closely followed by the Fed when making its interest rate decisions.
In equity markets, corporate news was thin on the ground, but precious metals miner Fresnillo and gold miners Hochschild and Endeavour all shone as gold and silver prices hit a record high.
Heavily-weighted miners were also trading higher, with Rio Tinto, Glencore and Antofagasta among the top performers on the FTSE 100.
On the downside, airlines flew lower, with easyJet, BA and Iberia owner IAG and Wizz Air all weaker after a cyber attack caused disruption at European airports including Heathrow over the weekend.
Russ Mould said: "The cyberattack on check-in software used by airports in London, Berlin and Brussels caused widespread pain, with flights delayed or cancelled. Airlines rely on efficiency to make money, and any disruptions can have a snowball effect.
"There will be some irate operators demanding answers as to why software provider Collins Aerospace didn’t have robust enough systems to block a cyberattack. Collins is owned by US-listed RTX, whose share price is likely to come under pressure when Wall Street opens for trading later today.
"Investors might take the view that RTX’s reputation will be battered and bruised by the incident, and that could cause potential customers to think twice about ordering its systems or existing customers to consider alternative options.
"EasyJet was among the airlines caught up in the drama, extending a bad run for its share price that’s been in motion since June. After yet another summer clouded by air traffic control strikes, EasyJet has now had to endure more cancellations and a queue of angry customers."
Elsewhere, Tate & Lyle was knocked lower by a downgrade to ‘underweight’ from ‘equalweight’ at Morgan Stanley, which cut the price target to 500p from 590p.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 9,224.80 0.09%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 21,604.83 0.07%
techMARK (TASX) 5,435.21 -0.04%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Fresnillo (FRES) 2,370.00p 4.13%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 4,697.00p 2.13%
Glencore (GLEN) 318.75p 1.85%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 2,357.00p 1.46%
Airtel Africa (AAF) 223.80p 1.18%
Anglo American (AAL) 2,569.00p 1.06%
Metlen Energy & Metals (MTLN) 50.80p 0.99%
Weir Group (WEIR) 2,670.00p 0.98%
3i Group (III) 3,915.00p 0.95%
Schroders (SDR) 382.00p 0.95%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
M&G (MNG) 254.00p -1.85%
Haleon (HLN) 334.00p -1.30%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 87.40p -1.15%
Smurfit Westrock (DI) (SWR) 3,222.00p -1.01%
NATWEST GROUP (NWG) 507.80p -0.94%
Croda International (CRDA) 2,686.00p -0.92%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,358.50p -0.91%
easyJet (EZJ) 449.30p -0.86%
Admiral Group (ADM) 3,284.00p -0.85%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 84.62p -0.82%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 342.60p 9.04%
Endeavour Mining (EDV) 2,978.00p 5.30%
BlackRock World Mining Trust (BRWM) 634.00p 3.09%
Anglo-Eastern Plantations (AEP) 1,340.00p 2.68%
AJ Bell (AJB) 522.00p 2.55%
Assura (AGR) 47.74p 2.40%
HGCapital Trust (HGT) 477.50p 2.36%
Harworth Group (HWG) 171.50p 2.08%
QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 516.00p 2.08%
Ithaca Energy (ITH) 188.50p 1.78%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Tate & Lyle (TATE) 468.00p -6.36%
Partners Group Private Equity Limited. (EUR) (PEY) 10.05p -5.19%
W.A.G Payment Solutions (EWG) 98.20p -4.20%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 78.00p -3.35%
NCC Group (NCC) 142.00p -2.34%
Kier Group (KIE) 208.00p -2.12%
Bridgepoint Group (Reg S) (BPT) 319.60p -2.02%
Hilton Food Group (HFG) 640.00p -1.99%
TBC Bank Group (TBCG) 4,385.00p -1.90%
Baltic Classifieds Group (BCG) 321.00p -1.83%
