London Report: Osborne’s speech sinks insurers and gambling groups
BRITAIN’S top shares fell yesterday as major insurance stocks suffered a sell-off after changes announced in the Budget threatened their profits.
George Osborne also dealt a blow to gambling companies such after he announced a new tax on certain betting machines.
The drop in insurers’ shares took the most points off the blue-chip FTSE 100 index, which closed down by 0.5 per cent, or 32.15 points, at 6,573.13.
The chancellor scrapped a requirement that pensions savings be used to buy an annuity.
Legal & General plunged 8.4 per cent, with trading volumes in the stock coming in at nearly nine times its three-month daily average. Aviva and Resolution also fell by 5.2 per cent and 4.6 per cent respectively.
Outside the FTSE 100, Partnership and Just Retirement, which have a heavier reliance on annuities, slumped 55 per cent and 42 per cent.
William Hill fell 6.8 per cent and Ladbrokes dived 11.7 per cent after Osborne also unveiled a new tax on fixed-odds betting terminals.