UKX FTSE 100 Index

By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch

Investors wrap up week shortened by Easter break

U.K. stocks declined Thursday, with bank shares among those losing ground as investors prepare to wrap up the holiday-shortened week.

The FTSE 100 dropped 0.5% to 7,314.94, with only the technology sector showing a gain.

The moves come on the last day of the trading week, as the equity market will be closed tomorrow for the Good Friday holiday. Trading will also be closed Monday in observance of Easter.

Read:When are European stock markets closed for Easter? (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/when-are-european-stock-markets-closed-for-the-easter-holiday-2017-04-12)

For the shortened week, the FTSE 100 was on track for a loss of 0.5%.

Banks in focus: Bank shares in the U.K. lost ground as the market waited for financial results from U.S. heavyweights in the sector: Citigroup Inc. (C), J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) and Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) .

See:J.P. Morgan earnings: Expect strong trading results, talk of regulations and tax reform (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/jp-morgan-earnings-expect-strong-trading-results-talk-of-regulations-and-tax-reform-2017-04-10)

Investors will listen for what Wall Street banks say about the outlook for U.S. regulatory changes. Bank shares globally have risen on the prospect the Trump administration will relax rules for financial firms, but those hopes have been tempered as uncertainty over the implementation of that policy grows.

In London, HSBC Holdings PLC (HSBA.LN) (HSBA.LN) (HSBA.LN) dropped 1%, Barclays PLC (BCS) (BCS) shed 0.4%, Royal Bank of Scotland PLC shares (RBS.LN) (RBS.LN) slipped 0.2%, and Standard Chartered PLC shares (STAN.LN) declined 0.6%.

But Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LLOY.LN) (LLOY.LN) outperformed, rising 0.2%.

Miners hold back: Mining shares were mixed despite a leap in metals prices, including a nearly 1% jump in copper and gold futures.

Metals prices rose as the dollar was knocked down late Thursday. The moves came after U.S. President Donald Trump told The Wall Street Journal the U.S. currency "is getting too strong" (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/trump-comes-around-to-the-sound-of-the-phrase-strong-dollar-2017-04-12) and he would prefer the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates low.

"It's very, very hard to compete when you have a strong dollar and other countries are devaluing their currency," he said.

A weaker dollar tends to boost dollar-denominated commodities as it makes them less expensive to buy for holders of other currencies.

In the mining group, Glencore PLC (GLEN.LN) fell 0.6%, Rio Tinto PLC (RIO) (RIO) (RIO) declined 0.4%, and Anglo American PLC (AAL.LN) was off about 0.1%.

But Fresnillo PLC (FRES.LN) tacked on 1.2%, Randgold Resources PLC (RRS.LN) rose 0.7%, and Antofagasta PLC (ANTO.LN) picked up 0.4%.

Investors were also assessing a trade update from China, a large buyer of precious and industrial metals. The country's exports rose more than expected in March (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/china-exports-rise-164-trade-surplus-returns-2017-04-13) on improved global demand, bringing trade back into surplus. That data raised the prospect that next week's report on China's first-quarter gross domestic product will show steady growth.

Other movers: Royal Mail PLC (RMG.LN) climbed 1.4% after the postal company said it will stop paying into its pension plan on March 31, 2018 (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/royal-mail-sets-date-to-stop-pension-plan-payment-2017-04-13) as it expects contributions to more than double. It also said it can't see an affordable solution to keeping it open in its current form.

Mediclinic International PLC (MDC.LN) jumped 4.3%. The international private health care company said trading for fiscal 2017 has been in line with expectations, with revenue growth in all regions (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/mediclinic-2017-trading-in-line-with-expectations-2017-04-13) except Abu Dhabi.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 13, 2017 04:36 ET (08:36 GMT)

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