FTSE 100 falls on negative investor sentiment
The blue chip index lost yesterday’s gains as shares across the board fell, as investors were cautious over muted economic data. Data out today from the British Retail Consortium showed that retail sales fell in August as the Olympics failed to encourage spending.
Household goods manufacturer McBride led the fallers in early deals, down 6.44 per cent, despite it today reporting a small rise in annual profit.
Holiday firm Thomas Cook cemented yesterday’s slide, down 3.08 per cent.
Finnish miner Talvivaara lost ground after gaining nearly 12 per cent in trading yesterday, as investors were buoyed by news that it wasn’t in difficulty. The base metal miner fell by three per cent this morning.
Elsewhere, home shopping group Findel, which has enjoyed several weeks of continuous share price increases, fell by 1.96 per cent.
On the risers, plant hire firm Ashtead Group was up by 8.74 per cent in early trading, on the back of a positive first-half results statement.
CPP Group, an international life assistance business, rose 8.41 per cent, while Greene King jumped 4.17 per cent as it announced that sales at its pubs grew 5.1 per cent in spite of the wet summer.
Miner Ophir Energy, which yesterday doubled its resource estimates at one of its sites in Tanzania, was up by 3.41 per cent.
Banking shares lost ground this morning. HSBC was down 0.49 per cent, RBS fell 1.63 per cent, Lloyds Banking Group dropped 1.44 per cent, while Barclays remained flat.
In Asia, the Nikkei fell 0.1 per cent to close at 8,775.51. In the US the Dow Jones closed up 0.69 per cent yesterday at 13,090.84.