COMMERCIAL Brief London rally; bank rate cut

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33426, 7 January 1974, Page 7

COMMERCIAL Brief London rally; bank rate cut

The cut of 0.25 per cent in the Bank of England’s minimum lending rate to 12.75 per cent prompted a brief rally in industrials on the London sharemarket on Friday, hut this was soon overshadowed by continued worries about the labour unions, and most prices fell a couple of pence.

Gilt-edge securities were! Marked up between 1/8 and 1 4 in the medium and longterm loans, and a moderate Volume of buying raised some shorts as much as 11/16. Oils were sharply higher,; although off the top. with BP and Burmah about 30p and 40p higher respectively' after news of the new North Sea oil find by the BP/Ranger Consortium Gold shares ran into profittaking after the drop in the:

■bullion price, with some falls iof more than IOOp. Dollar stocks were firm. Australian mining shares had their best day for months on Friday. There were many more buyers than sellers, and trading was brisk, with most interest centred on the big miners. The rise was helped by a steep rise in the dollar premium. which climbed to 43,| per cent at one stage, and Iby a developing stock shortage. t. The closing prices on Friday of some selected stocks were: Ampol Pet., 50J; A.N.Z., 3711; N.S.W.. 577}; 8.H.P., 688; Dalgety. 207}; Elder Smith. 170; 1 Lloyds Bank. 252}; Mt Lyell, 110}; Nat. Bank. 241}: Nat. Mortgage. 1261; Nth 8.H., 107}; Plessey, 88; ' R.T.Z . ord., 214; R.T.Z., regd. 190; 5.8. H., 188}; Trans. Dev., 401; West. Min., 113}; P and O. 125; Prudential “A.” 140; Reed Paper, 215; Brit. Am. Tobacco. 246}; 8.L.M.C., 18}; Distillers, 137}; Glaxo. 388; ICI, 195; Marks. Spencer. 214; Shell Trans.. 235; (Unilever, 2961; Brit. War Loan, 28}.