FTSE 100 drops after US data

US data led to a dip for the FTSE 100 yesterday.


Blue avatar for FOREX.com guest contributors
By :  ,  Financial Analyst

The FTSE 100 was down yesterday (April 3rd) as a result of economic data from the US.

Concerns about the slow pace of recovery in the world's biggest economy were reignited yesterday and growth-linked sectors such as mining and banking were affected as a result.

Speaking to Reuters, Henk Potts, equity strategist at Barclays Wealth, explained there was disappointment from investors at data coming out of the US.

The ADP National Employment Report released in the US showed lower than forecast private sector jobs were added in March.

"Perhaps the weaker numbers that we saw today are just being used by investors as an opportunity to take profits after a very strong rally," said Mr Potts.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 index finished 70.38 points down, a drop of more than one per cent on the start of the day's trading.

Barclays was down 2.8 per cent and Standard Chartered down 1.4 per cent, while mining firms ENRC, Xstrata and BHP Billiton fell by between two to 4.6 per cent.

The FTSE 100 was boosted earlier in the month by the growth of airline EasyJet.

Learn about the sterling and forex trading at City Index.

Related tags:

Open an account today

Experience award-winning platforms with fast and secure execution.

Web Trader platform

Our sophisticated web-based platform is packed with features.
Economic Calendar