Commodity stocks 'the new barometers of London equity'

Natural resources edged ahead of banks in FTSE 100 weighting in April, with around 16% of the blue-chip index now invested in mining and basic resources companies – slightly ahead of banking stocks. Furthermore, £100 in a FTSE 100 tracker would see £35 go into overall commodities, with just £23 invested in the wider financial services sector. “Although the financial sector is often viewed as a bell-weather of the UK stock market, companies with commodities at their core are now arguably more representative of the health of London equities,” Ewing says. However, Ewing believes the rise...