London close: UK stocks fall for fourth day as mining shares tank

LONDON (ShareCast) - UK stocks extended their losing streak into the fourth day on Friday as a sell-off in iron ore and a stronger dollar hit share prices in the mining sector. London's resource-heavy FTSE 100 finished the session down 40.31 points (-0.58%) at 6,855.02 as it continued its retreat from the record closing high of 7,037.67 reached on Monday.

Iron ore prices touched a new six-year low on Friday after data showed industrial profits in China fell 4.2% year-on-year in February. The commodity was also weighed down by the news that miners had dismissed Fortescue's call to collectively cap output to improve market conditions amid a supply glut.

"The return of dollar strength has seen commodity prices take a tumble, and subsequently the heavy weighting of the mining sector in the FTSE has seen it struggle to keep pace with more sprightly European equity markets," said IG (LSE: IGG.L - news) 's Alastair McCaig.

Comments from Bank of England governor Mark Carney were also weighing on UK markets after he said the central bank is still on track to raise interest rates in the future despite subdued inflation. Carney said: "We're still in a position where our message is [...] that the next move in interest rates is going to be up," prompting a 0.3% rise in the pound against the dollar to $1.4895.

In economic news, a Nationwide survey showed the annual growth in UK house prices slowed to an 18-month low of 5.1% in March.

Meanwhile, the final estimate of fourth-quarter annualised US economic growth was confirmed at 2.2%, in line with initial estimates but down from 5% in the third quarter.

Antofagasta (Other OTC: ANFGF - news) leads miners lower, Carnival (LSE: CCL.L - news) jumps Copper mining group Antofagasta declined after being forced to suspend three mines in the north of Chile due to heavy rain. Since Tuesday evening, flash floods in the Atacama Desert in the north of Chile have wreaked havoc across the region, where Antofagasta's Centinela, Antucoya and Michilla mines are located.

Mining peers BHP Billiton (NYSE: BBL - news) , Anglo American (LSE: AAL.L - news) , Randgold Resources, Glencore (Xetra: A1JAGV - news) and Rio Tinto (Xetra: 855018 - news) were also out of favour as metal prices weakened.

Leading the risers was Carnival as the cruise operator impressed with its first-quarter results and upbeat outlook. The company reported earnings of 20 cents per share, compared with a break-even performance a year before and ahead of previous guidance.

Royal Bank of Scotland (LSE: RBS.L - news) fell into the red after confirming it will be offloading its Coutts private banking business to Switzerland's Union Bancaire Privée. No sale price was given, though RBS said it expects to take a £200m goodwill write-down.

Barratt Developments (LSE: BDEV.L - news) was lower after announcing that chief executive Mark Clare has stepped down following nine years in the role, to be replaced by finance director David Thomas.

Airline stocks Easyjet (Other OTC: ESYJY - news) and IAG were performing well, rebounding after falling sharply on Thursday on the back of a spike in the oil price. Crude prices pulled back on Friday, while RBC Capital Markets upgraded Easyjet to 'outperform'.

Market Movers techMARK 3,168.41 -0.25% FTSE 100 6,855.02 -0.58% FTSE 250 17,162.64 -0.57% FTSE 100 - Risers Carnival (CCL) 3,241.00p +7.18% InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 2,640.00p +2.76% Shire Plc (Xetra: S7E.DE - news) (SHP) 5,425.00p +2.17% SABMiller (SAB) 3,613.00p +1.43% Compass Group (Other OTC: CMPGF - news) (CPG) 1,174.00p +1.21% International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 594.00p +1.19% easyJet (EZJ) 1,858.00p +1.14% London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) 2,413.00p +0.75% Land Securities Group (LAND) 1,268.00p +0.63% British Land Company (BLND) 849.50p +0.47% FTSE 100 - Fallers Weir Group (WEIR) 1,714.00p -3.55% Glencore (GLEN) 288.15p -3.05% Sports Direct International (Other OTC: SDIPF - news) (SPD) 621.50p -3.04% Anglo American (AAL) 1,044.00p -3.02% Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 4,756.00p -2.98% Ashtead Group (LSE: AHT.L - news) (AHT) 1,070.00p -2.55% Rio Tinto (RIO) 2,809.50p -2.35% Barclays (BARC) 244.25p -2.30% BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,507.50p -2.27% Dixons Carphone (LSE: DC.L - news) (DC.) 409.50p -2.13% FTSE 250 - Risers Workspace Group (LSE: WKP.L - news) (WKP) 884.00p +3.51% Just Eat (JE.) 421.00p +3.01% CLS Holdings (LSE: CLI.L - news) (CLI) 1,745.00p +2.65% Unite Group (LSE: UTG.L - news) (UTG (Other OTC: UTGN - news) ) 597.00p +2.49% Homeserve (HSV) 371.80p +2.40% Rank Group (RNK) 188.40p +2.11% Balfour Beatty (Other OTC: BAFBF - news) (BBY) 239.90p +2.04% Monks Inv Trust (MNKS) 428.00p +2.03% Grafton Group Units (GFTU) 795.50p +1.86% Spire Healthcare Group (SPI) 357.70p +1.82% FTSE 250 - Fallers Lonmin (LMI) 122.30p -5.49% Supergroup (SGP) 945.50p -4.59% Tullow Oil (LSE: TLW.L - news) (TLW) 296.40p -3.86% BlackRock World Mining Trust (BRWM) 294.50p -3.76% Hunting (HTG) 520.00p -3.61% AA (AA.) 416.70p -3.50% Premier Oil (LSE: PMO.L - news) (PMO) 141.00p -3.49% Serco Group (Other OTC: SECCF - news) (SRP) 168.10p -3.39% Nostrum Oil & Gas (Stuttgart: 3NO.SG - news) (NOG) 590.00p -3.28% Drax Group (LSE: DRX.L - news) (DRX) 368.30p -3.23%