UKX FTSE 100 Index

By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch

Still on track for weekly win

U.K. stocks struggled to find a firm footing Friday, as investors waited to hear what hints U.S. Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen may drop about the likelihood of an interest rate hike in June.

The FTSE 100 was up 0.1% at 6,269.43, darting between small gains and losses, but was still on track for a win for the week.

Mining shares were putting in the best performance sector-wise. Iron ore heavyweight Rio Tinto PLC (RIO) (RIO) (RIO) was up 1.9%, Glencore PLC (GLEN.LN) moved 1.4% higher, and Anglo American PLC (AAL.LN) gained 1.3%. The company said it named Bruce Cleaver as chief executive of its De Beers Group diamond unit, (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/anglo-american-appoints-new-de-beers-ceo-2016-05-27-2485276) effective July 1.

Among energy shares, Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSB.LN) (RDSB.LN) was up 0.2%, while BP PLC (BP.LN) (BP.LN) tacked on 0.1% as oil prices slipped, trading below $50 a barrel.

"Brent crude may have failed to regain its hold on the $50/barrel mark, but commodity stocks are still finding favour, helped in no small part by U.S. dollar weakness amidst the idea that the Fed may not be in a position to hike rates next month as had been earlier thought," said Tony Cross, market analyst at Trustnet Direct, in a note.

Fed speaker Yellen will appear at Harvard University later Friday for the annual Radcliffe Day celebration. While investors will be watching for any comments she has on the timing of interest rates, Fed observers caution that she may hold off from a major pronouncement on policy.

Read:Fed's Yellen may send interest-rate message by not making one (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/feds-yellen-may-send-interest-rate-message-by-not-making-one-2016-05-25)

For the week, the London index was looking at a 1.8% rise, which would be its largest gain since mid-April.

The "U.K. index is on for a pretty fantastic week given the state of its data (namely that worrisome GDP report on Thursday), now sitting at, perhaps undeserved, three-week highs," said Connor Campbell, financial analyst at SpreadEx, in a note.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 27, 2016 03:58 ET (07:58 GMT)

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