Advertisement
UK markets closed
  • NIKKEI 225

    40,168.07
    -594.66 (-1.46%)
     
  • HANG SENG

    16,541.42
    +148.58 (+0.91%)
     
  • CRUDE OIL

    83.11
    +1.76 (+2.16%)
     
  • GOLD FUTURES

    2,254.80
    +42.10 (+1.90%)
     
  • DOW

    39,807.37
    +47.29 (+0.12%)
     
  • Bitcoin GBP

    56,096.64
    +1,353.55 (+2.47%)
     
  • CMC Crypto 200

    885.54
    0.00 (0.00%)
     
  • NASDAQ Composite

    16,379.46
    -20.06 (-0.12%)
     
  • UK FTSE All Share

    4,338.05
    +12.12 (+0.28%)
     

Earnings-day blues drags UK shares down

* FTSE 100 down 0.5 pct, in line with Europe

* Travis Perkins (LSE: TPK.L - news) , Standard Life (LSE: SL.L - news) down after results

* Smiths Group (Other OTC: SMGKF - news) lifted by report of activist stake

* Coca-Cola HBC falls after Goldman downgrade

LONDON, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Top UK shares opened on a downbeat note on Tuesday, with a mixed bag of corporate earnings and weakness in the technology sector offsetting reports of activist stake-building.

The FTSE 100 index was down 0.4 percent at 0804 GMT, broadly in line with peers across Europe, though it has so far this year underperformed the region as a commodities sell-off and worries over China demand weigh on London-listed mining and energy shares.

ADVERTISEMENT

While early trading on Tuesday saw something of a rebound for miners, with investors focusing on their ability to cut spending in the face of the commodity price drop, sluggish trade kept energy stocks such as BG Group (LSE: BG.L - news) and BP in negative territory.

Technology stocks including ARM Holdings (LSE: ARM.L - news) were also weak after rocky Asia trading that saw Apple (NasdaqGS: AAPL - news) suppliers fall.

"The continuation of this commodity drag has meant the UK index underwent another lifeless open," said Connor Campbell, analyst at Spreadex.

Home-improvement company Travis Perkins was among the FTSE 100's worst performers after it published a trading update that it said was in line with forecasts, though some analysts said the figures were disappointing.

Insurer Standard Life saw first-half profits dented by a drop in sales of fixed-rate annuities. The shares fell nearly 3 percent. International Airlines Group also fell after reiterating annual growth but slightly reduced capacity growth.

Bottling company Coca-Cola HBC fell after a broker downgrade from Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS-PB - news) , which cited pressures on revenue growth and profitability and a lack of takeover potential.

Deal hopes were much stronger with Smiths Group, whose shares jumped more than 6 percent on reports of stake-building in Smiths Group.

Royal Bank of Scotland (LSE: RBS.L - news) enjoyed small gains after news that Britain had sold a 2.1 billion pound ($3.3 billion) stake to kick off the disposal of its holding seven years after bailing out the bank.

(Reporting by Lionel Laurent; Editing by Alison Williams)