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On Tuesday, the FTSE 100 lost 0.4%, which is heavily reliant on commodities, experiencing a slight decrease due to the decline in base metal miners caused by lower copper prices. Industrial mining companies saw a 2.4% decrease in their stock prices due to lower copper prices and a strong dollar. Traders are assessing the demand in China after the Lunar New Year holiday. Additionally, Antofagasta reported a 5% increase in profit for 2023, but also announced a reduction in dividend and an increase in capital expenditure, leading to a 1.6% drop in their stock value. Rio Tinto and Anglo American, two major mining companies, faced major challenges as the prices of key commodities for their operations experienced a decline. With the former Rio becoming the largest percentage loser on the session shedding 3.65%.

However, the blue chip index losses were limited as Barclays emerged as the top performer on the FTSE 100 following the announcement of its operational restructuring and buyback plans. The company is up 5.4% at 157p, leading London's blue-chip index. It aims to reorganise its business into five operating divisions and enhance shareholder returns by returning a total of 10 billion pounds ($12.59 billion) between 2024 and 2026, with an additional 3 billion pounds for 2023, marking a 37% increase year over year. This includes a new share buyback of 1 billion pounds and a final dividend of 5.3 pence per share. Furthermore, the company plans to restructure its payments business and anticipates a return on tangible equity (ROTE) of over 10% in 2024, with targets increasing to over 12% in 2026. Barclays reported a full-year pretax profit of 6.6 billion pounds, slightly below the average analysts' forecast of 6.7 billion pounds. The stock had experienced a decline of approximately 3% in 2023.

FTSE Bias: Bullish Above Bearish below 7650

• Below7450 opens 7360
• Primary support 7450
• Primary objective 7825
• 5 Day VWAP bullish
• 20 Day VWAP bullish

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