Markets: Xstrata determination lifts Glencore

Shares in commodities trader Glencore soared by almost 8 per cent yesterday as chief executive Ivan Glasenberg vowed to buy miner Xstrata even if the deal takes longer to complete.

The merger looks likely to collapse next week as Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund and other large shareholders have said they will vote down the all-share offer. But Glasenberg’s remarks that he would play a long game if necessary and speculation that Glencore might offer a small last-minute sweetener next week to clinch the deal boosted both companies’ stock. Glencore was up 27.6p at 385.1p and Xstrata added 51.2 to 952.2p.

Michael Hewsonat CMC Markets said: “Other miners are also higher on firmer metals prices, while industrials have also bounced back with Weir Group and IMI rebounding after five days of losses.”

Both were up about 2 per cent as Weir added 32p at 1,633p, and IMI added 18p to 860p.

Defensive utilities firms, which had benefited from the recent torpor in the markets, retreated from their highs. Centrica was down 4.8p to 326.7p and Severn Trent fell 25p to 1,731p. SSE made smaller losses after UBS upgraded it from “neutral” to “buy”, reversing early gains to end the day 11p lower at 1,368p.

The wider market was disappointed with US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke’s failure to offer clear signals of imminent money-printing measures. The FTSE 100 Index dipped 8 points to 5,711.5.

Outside the top flight, oil firm Cairn Energy recouped Thursday’s losses as analysts at Deustche Bank poured cold water on rumours that the Edinburgh-based based firm was about to embark on another costly exploration off Greenland. The shares added nearly 5 per cent at 287p.

NEW YORK: Wall Street rose last night after Fed chairman Ben Bernanke, expressing “grave concern” for the stagnating US job market, said the bank was prepared to take further steps to strengthen the economy.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 90.13 points, or 0.69 pecent, at 13,090.84 while the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 Index ended ahead 7.10 points, or 0.51 per cent, at 1,406.58. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 18.25 points, or 0.60 pecent, closing at 3,066.96.