Sector movers: Miners boosted by metal prices, Alcoa results

9th Jul 2013 15:28

The mining sector as a whole was over three per cent higher on Tuesday as resource stocks tracked metal prices higher and reacted positively to a number of upbeat trading updates.Sentiment was also lifted today by aluminium producer Alcoa, which unofficially kicked off second-quarter earnings season in the States with forecast-beating results last night. The firm reported adjusted earnings per share of seven cents, ahead of the six cents forecast, though consensus estimates had been trimmed in the lead-up to the results given recent falls in metal prices.In London, heavyweight miners Vedanta Resources, BHP Billiton and Anglo American were making impressive gains before the close, as the sector - which fell sharply amidst heightened market volatility in June - recovered after recent losses.Metals prices gained across the board on Tuesday, providing a boost to equities, with gold up 1.3% at $1,251 an ounce and silver 1.1% higher at $19.25 an ounce.Rio Tinto was boosted by the news that its part-owned giant copper-gold mine in Mongolia, Oyu Tolgoi, has started shipping copper concentrate to customers.Ferrexpo was the standout performer of the day on the FTSE 250, surging after a second-quarter production update. The iron ore producer said that group pellet output was up 11.4% year-on-year in the first half, helped by the ramp up of production from the new Ferrexpo Yeristovo Mining (FYM) open pit. Matt Basi, Head of UK Sales Trading at CMC Markets, said that the media price target amongst the 23 major analysts covering the stock is 236p - "a 60% premium to this morning's levels". Second-tier mining peers Hochschild Mining, Polymetal, African Barrick Gold and Lonmin were also in demand, with the latter benefitting from an upgrade by Westhouse Securities from 'sell' to 'neutral'.Bucking the trend was Centamin which slipped into the red despite saying it achieved record gold production at its Sukari Gold Mine in Egypt in the three months to end of June. The company however kept its full-year guidance unchanged, warning of reduced throughput from commissioning activities in the fourth quarter.Top performing sectors so far todayAutomobiles & Parts 7,774.07 +3.07%Mining 14,710.17 +3.01%Forestry & Paper 9,543.42 +2.90%Oil Equipment, Services & Distribution 23,289.49 +1.97%Financial Services 6,961.76 +1.86%Bottom performing sectors so far todayIndustrial Metals & Mining 1,152.24 -1.94%