The FTSE 100 is limping towards the close once again rotating around the flatline; some cracks in the rally have started to materialise towards the backend of the week with commodities starting to creak. This has led to the rally leaders, the industrial miners, coming under increasing pressure with Rio Tinto down 4.5%+, Anglo American shedding 3.5%+  and Fresnillo also in the 3%+ loss group on the day. The miners have retreated in unison with the cooper prices that have been sliding. Glencore added to the pity party as they reported lower than expected production numbers for zinc, nickel and copper for the first quarter.

On the positive side of the ledger, Dowlais Group (LSE:DWL.L) has stormed to the top of the index today with a 6.5%+ gain on the session driven by Reuters reporting that the UK auto supplier is developing rare earth magnets for production in the U.S. market as carmakers look to source more parts locally and benefit from subsidies provided by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), its top executive said on Thursday.

On the fundamental front The UK's economy advanced further into expansionary territory in April, with the service sector leading the charge whilst manufacturing continued to lag according to S&PGlobal’s first reading the composite index rose to a 12 month high of 53.9 in April from 52.2 in March. In the manufacturing sector, the index dropped to a four month low of 46.6 undercutting market expectations by a couple of points, however as expected the services PMI nudged higher to 54.9, representing the highest print in a year.

FTSE Bias: Intraday Bullish Above Bearish below 7875

• Primary support  is 7635

• Primary objective 8046

• Below 7750 opens 7590

• 20 Day VWAP bullish, 5 Day VWAP bullish

More By This Author: