Date: Tuesday 26 Aug 2008
LONDON (ShareCast) - Electricity stocks and pharmaceutical groups are doing well as investors flock to safer investments in an otherwise declining market.
Drugs giants Shire and GlaxoSmithKline are among the handful of risers among the blue chips. International Power and Scottish and Southern are also holding out.
The lower crude price is responsible for some heavy selling in the oil sector. The stronger dollar and the resumption of shipments along the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline helped send crude oil for October delivery below $113 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
BP, Shell and BG Group are in the red, but it’s not all gloom in the sector, with smaller companies Genesis Petroleum, Bowleven and Pantheon posting gains on the back of positive drilling news.
Top performing sectors so far today
Electricity 7,890.20 +0.14%
Pharmaceuticals & Biotechnology 8,241.40 +0.11%
Bottom performing sectors so far today
Industrial Metals 6,346.60 -5.36%
Mining 22,183.40 -3.67%
Oil & Gas Producers 7,523.00 -2.84%
Life Insurance 3,975.40 -2.78%
Beverages 6,309.40 -2.40%