FOREX-Dollar off lows but still wobbly as hawkish central banks help peers

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By Sudip Kar-Gupta LONDON (Reuters) - Britains top equity index gained ground on Friday as a surge in the shares of Lloyds bank (LLOY.L) and miners boosted the market, although caution before next weeks national election kept a lid on the progress. Lloyds soared 7.1 percent after reporting profits at the top end of analysts forecasts. Miners such as Anglo American (AAL.L) and Rio Tinto (RIO.L) also rallied after data showing that Chinas factories struggled to grow in April reinforced expectations that China - the worlds biggest metals consumer - will roll out more measures to support its slowing economy. Lloyds was the best-performer on the blue-chip FTSE 100 index (.FTSE), which closed up 0.4 percent at 6,985.95 points. The FTSE hit a record high of 7,122.74 points on April 27 but has since edged back, as caution has set in among investors before next Thursdays British election. The index remains up by around 6 percent since the start of 2015. The (election) result looks too close to call so a lot of people will be looking to bank some profits ahead of the vote, said Dafydd Davies, partner at Charles Hanover Investments. Opinion polls put the right-wing Conservatives, who lead the current coalition government, neck-and-neck with the opposition left-wing Labour party, while the Scottish National Party could emerge as the third-biggest party. A further risk also stems from the Conservatives promise of a referendum on Britains membership of the European Union by the end of 2017, if they win. Davies said certain sectors could underperform more than others next week, such as utilities and housebuilders. Labour says it would ensure cheaper energy costs for consumers by the end of this year if it wins the election. Labour has also promised to empower the energy regulator to force prices down and has set out plans to reform the property and housebuilding sectors, such as by introducing rent controls. This has already affected shares in those industries. Utility and property companies such as United Utilities (UU.L) and Land Securities (LAND.L) fell on Friday, making them some of the weakest stocks in the FTSE 100. Uncertainty ahead of the UK election appears to be dampening sentiment, particularly with regards to the property and utility stocks, said Keith Bowman, analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown. (Additional reporting by Atul Prakash; Editing by Mark Trevelyan and Susan Fenton) View comments
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