Plunging oil prices weigh heavily but Carpetright soars – London Report
London stocks fell yesterday, with the FTSE 100 down for a sixth consecutive session, as equities markets failed to hold on to an early rally as fears about sliding oil prices and demand for other basic commodities took hold once more.
The FTSE 100 ended down 1.9 per cent, or 117.91 points, at 6,182.72, with only eight stocks ended in positive territory, the FTSE 250 down 0.9 per cent at 15,233.90, and the Aim All-Share index fell 0.9 per cent to close at 686.75.
Miners and oil stocks were among the worst performers. BHP Billiton closed down 3.7 per cent, Anglo American down 3.3 per cent, BP down 3.2 per cent, BG Group down 2.9 per cent, Fresnillo down 2.8 per cent, Glencore down 2.8 per cent and Rio Tinto down 2.5 per cent. In the FTSE 250, Ferrexpo ended down 11.1 per cent, Hochschild down 9.1 per cent and Evraz down 8.3 per cent.
However, shares in Carpetright shot up 14.37 per cent after saying it expected full-year profit to be towards the upper end of market forecasts as trading improved both at home and abroad.