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The FTSE 100 dropped on a busy day for company results

glencorelogo
glencorelogo

Reuters

The FTSE 100 fell on Thursday on a busy day of results for the UK's biggest companies.

By the close of play the UK's benchmark index is down by 0.42% to trade at 7,271 points, having spent much of the day hovering around 0.2% lower.

"Stocks going ex-dividend weighed on the FTSE 100 in a day loaded with big name corporate results. Well-received earnings from Intu Properties, RSA insurance and Glencore put the respective shares in the top 3 spots on the British equity benchmark," Jasper Lawler of London Capital Group wrote in an email earlier this afternoon.

Mining giant Rio Tinto was one of those stocks to pass its ex-dividend date, dropping 5.3% as a result. Ex-dividend means that anyone buying shares in the company between now and the end of its financial year will not receive a dividend, and instead that dividend will be paid out to the person selling the shares.

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Shares in major firms tend to slide when passing the ex-dividend date, as without a dividend the total return on any stock will generally be lower, making it a less attractive investment. 

Here is the FTSE's chart, showing the scale of losses:

Screen Shot 2017 02 23 at 16.50.01
Screen Shot 2017 02 23 at 16.50.01

Investing.com

The biggest drag on the FTSE, however, was Barclays, which lost 2.6% despite a strong set of results. 

"Its huge market capitalisation meant Barclays want one of the biggest negative influences on British stocks," Lawler said.

Barclays reported a surge in pre-tax profit in 2016, reaching £3.2 billion from £1.1 billion the year before.

It also reduced conduct charges — mainly customer compensation for the mis-selling of payment protection insurance— from £4.4 billion in 2015 to £1.4 billion last year.

Unlike Rio Tinto, commodities firm Glencore had a strong day in the markets, after reporting a first profit since the debt crisis that struck the firm in the autumn of 2015. 

"The last 18 months have been challenging for Glencore," chief executive Ivan Glasenberg said in a statement.

"On a positive note, we have demonstrated that Glencore is a strongly cash generative business, even at low points in the cycle, and is capable and willing to react decisively and quickly as circumstances require."

Glencore opened a little lower, but quickly recovered and at one point climbed almost 5%, before eventually closing at 1.72% higher at £3.3135 per share. 

Elsewhere in Europe, markets followed the FTSE lower, pushed down despite US stocks hitting record highs in early trading. Here is the scoreboard:

Screen Shot 2017 02 23 at 16.44.53
Screen Shot 2017 02 23 at 16.44.53

Investing.com

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