Markets

FTSE 100 drops to over one-week low as retail and energy stocks drag

European stocks sink to their lowest in a week over a spike in Covid-19 cases in Asia

Traders work during the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange on Wall Street

Tue Aug 17 2021 - 09:41

London’s FTSE 100 fell on Tuesday, dragged down by heavyweight retail, insurance and energy stocks, although employment numbers highlighting a steady UK economic recovery helped limit losses.

The number of employees on British company payrolls rose by 182,000 in July from June, moving closer to their pre-pandemic level as the economy recovers from its coronavirus lockdowns, tax data showed.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 index dropped 0.3 per cent to its lowest since August 6th, with retailer Unilever, insurer Prudential and oil major BP among the top drags.

The domestically focussed mid-cap index fell 0.5 per cent with travel stocks declining the most.

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Online trading platform Plus500 jumped 7.7 per cent to the top of the mid-cap index after it forecast annual revenue “significantly ahead” of analysts’ estimates.

UK-listed shares of miner BHP Group jumped 9.2 per cent to the top of the FTSE 100 after the company posted its best annual profit in nearly a decade and said it would sell its petroleum assets to Woodside Petroleum.

European stocks sank to their lowest in a week as a spike in Covid-19 cases in Asia and elsewhere raised fears of a slowdown in global economic growth.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 shed 0.5 per cent by 7.10am GMT, falling for a second straight session after the index marked its longest winning streak in over a decade.

Tighter scrutiny of China’s internet sector, nationwide lockdown in New Zealand and movement restrictions in several Asian countries kept investors on edge even as European economies continued to recover from the pandemic-driven downturn.

Dutch tech firm Prosus, which has a stake in Chinese tech giant Tencent, fell 4.2 per cent.

Economically sensitive cyclical sectors such as oil and gas, travel and leisure, automakers and banks led the early declines.

UK-listed shares of miner BHP Group jumped 8.6 per cent after it posted its best annual profit in nearly a decade and said it would sell its petroleum assets to Woodside Petroleum. – Reuters

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