U.K. stocks finish at lowest level in more than a month
British blue-chip stocks tumbled by the most in six weeks Thursday, leaving the benchmark FTSE 100 at its lowest level in more than a month.
Commodity shares slumped as metals prices slid, while Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC shares sank on the back of the aircraft-engine maker’s profit warning.
Only five shares on the FTSE 100 UKX, -1.88% finished higher. The performance left the benchmark down by 1.9%, the sharpest percentage loss since Sept. 28, FactSet data showed. Its close at 6,178.68 was the worst since Oct. 2.
For the FTSE 100, “we’ve been going sideways basically for a month” and “the fact that we’ve dropped through 6,250, to me, is a bit of a gamechanger,” said Jasper Lawler, market analyst at CMC Markets. “It speaks to some weakness to come.”
The FTSE 100 was on track for a weekly fall of 2.8%. It is down 13% since hitting an all-time of 7,103.98 on April 27.
All but the utilities sector fell Thursday, with a 4% drop among miners. Gold prices GCZ5, -0.45% were trading at their lowest in about five years, “which in and of itself isn’t an issue, but it is matching similar drops in copper and oil. Commodities are reacting to the downside ahead of equities in worry over a potential Fed rate hike in December,” Lawler said.
Copper producer Antofagasta PLC ANTO, -4.89% lost 4.9% as copper futures HGZ5, -1.96% fell more than 2%. Anglo American PLC AAL, -8.70% shed 8.7% and Glencore PLC GLEN, -7.64% ended down by 7.6%.
Oil prices CLZ5, -2.73% stumbled by more than 2%. That pressured shares of major oil companies BP PLC BP., -2.82% BP, -2.46% and Royal Dutch Shell PLC RDSB, -4.26% RDS.B, -1.73% which fell 2.8% and 2.5%, respectively.
U.S. stocks were hit hard Thursday, as well, after St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said “prudence alone” suggests the Fed should be nudging up interest rates and shrinking its balance sheet back towards more “normal settings.”
Aerospace activity: Rolls-Royce RR., -19.57% shares tumbled 19%, marking the biggest plunge since a 22.4% tumble in August 2000. The sharp selling was triggered after the company said it may cut its dividend as it downgraded its earnings outlook for this year and next.
Rolls-Royce, which produces aircraft engines for Boeing Co. 787 Dreamliners and Airbus Group SE A380 superjumbos, said its “negative outlook reflects sharply weaker demand in 2016, including in wide-bodied aftermarket, corporate and regional aerospace markets and offshore marine.”
Rolls-Royce shares have fallen for six straight sessions.
Shares of aerospace, defense and energy group Meggitt PLC MGGT, -3.16% were down 3.2%. Meggit last month issued its own profit warning. Also under pressure Thursday was engineering services provider Smiths Group PLC SMIN, -5.13% as its shares gave up 5.1%.
Aerospace industry heavyweight BAE Systems PLC BA., +3.81% on Thursday also cut its earnings outlook for the year and said it would cut more jobs, but its shares bucked the losing trend to rise 3.8%.
Other movers: Meanwhile, International Consolidated Airlines Group SA IAG, -3.01% fell 2.4%. The British Airways parent launched a 1-billion euro ($1.08 billion), two-tranche convertible bond offering on Thursday.
Burberry PLC BRBY, -1.65% shares reversed gains and fell 1.7%. Earlier Thursday, the luxury-goods maker reported a 14% rise in first-half profit and raised its interim dividend by 5%, despite flat revenue.
Source: Marketwatch
