Market round-up: Glencore takes a beating on FTSE 100 amid commodities price erosion

Glencore may return with a buyout offer for miner Rio Tinto — Embattled Glencore again shaved value from its stock price Monday 17 August. Reuters

The FTSE 100 barely budged from its depressed position at the end of last week and continued to indicate a downward trend as investors found little to be optimistic about. Again Glencore topped the list of the day's fallers on 17 August as -1.65% was shaved from its stock value. The multinational commodity trading and mining company was not the only resources firm to be hit. Oil and gas companies continued their poor performance as BHP Billiton shares sank -1.43%.

Natural resource exploration company Red Emperor's shares were also devalued after it abandoned the $25m (£16m, €23m) Hawkeye-1 exploration well it drilled to a depth of 2,920m offshore from the Philippines. The company said it is seeking out new opportunities.

"House-builder Bovis's shares were down despite record first-half sales and a 9% rise in pre-tax profits. The group's shares enjoyed a strong run ahead of the results and investors saw the opportunity for some profit-taking but there are also concerns about the challenges Bovis faces in finding builders," said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

The FTSE finished on 17 August at 6,550.30p, budging just -0.01% from where it closed last week. Multinational building materials distribution company Wolseley gained +2.21% value after being upgraded to "buy" by Citigroup Inc.