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 of...