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FTSE 100 Live: Stocks in retreat, BoE and Fed interest rate comments in focus

 (Evening Standard)
(Evening Standard)

Selling pressure has returned to global stock markets after recession fears were stoked by weak US consumer confidence figures.

New York-listed technology stocks bore the brunt as the Nasdaq fell 3% last night and the S&P 500 declined by 2%, ending a recent run of more stable trading.

Attention this afternoon will be on the ECB Forum on Central Banking in Portugal, where Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey and Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell are panellists.

FTSE 100 Live Wednesday

  • Shares lower on US economy worries

  • Bailey, Powell and Lagarde at central banking forum

  • B&M posts “encouraging” update

FTSE 100 down, British Land drops 5%

10:26 , Graeme Evans

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London offices giant British Land and MediaCity business Land Securities were hit by heavy selling today as nervous investors cut their exposure to property.

Shares in the FTSE 100-listed landlords fell as much as 5% after wider fears of an economic slowdown were exacerbated by Bank of America downgrading its price targets and recommendations on the pair.

British Land, whose London campuses include Paddington Central and Broadgate, fell 26.5p to 480.7p and Land Securities, which has Piccadilly Lights as well as a 75% stake in Salford’s MediaCity in its portfolio, dropped 32.4p to 704.2p.

The selling took place against a backdrop of poor investor sentiment after the weakest US consumer confidence reading in 16 months rattled Wall Street markets yesterday.

The FTSE 100 index retreated 36.10 points to 7287,31, having climbed 1% on Tuesday thanks to support from stocks in the energy and resources sector.

Big fallers included US-focused coursework and textbooks publisher Pearson, which declined 4% or 31.2p to 757.4p, while Ocado dropped 28.6p to 834.8p on fears over the impact of a weaker US grocery market.

Anglo American fell 83p to 3073.5p after Deutsche Bank downgraded the mining giant amid a more pessimistic view on its earnings estimates for the industry.

The bank is also more cautious on drinks giant Diageo, which it said looked to be “priced for perfection”. Shares in the Guinness and Smirnoff maker fell 114p to 3566p as Deutsche Bank downgraded from hold to sell with a new target of 3230p.

Discount retailer B&M European Value Retail bucked the gloom at the top of the FTSE 100 risers board, lifting 2% or 8.5p to 388.2p after sticking to profits guidance.

Analysts at Liberum described a 1.6% decline in UK like-for-like sales in May and June as “very encouraging”, a performance that backed up the broker’s 685p price target.

The FTSE 250 index fell more than 1% or 223.55 points to 19,127.72, with cruise ship firm Carnival losing recent gains with a fall of 10%.

Pearson and Diageo shares under pressure

08:38 , Graeme Evans

The FTSE 100 index is 37.58 points weaker at 7,285.83, representing a decline of 0.5% as European markets react to yesterday’s poor US consumer confidence reading and subsequent Wall Street selling.

Big fallers included textbooks and coursework publisher Pearson, which declined 4% or 31.2p to 757.4p, while the property firms British Land and Land Securities are down more than 2%.

Anglo American fell 68.5p to 3088p as Deutsche Bank took a more pessimistic view on the earnings outlook for the mining industry.

The bank is also more cautious on drinks giant Diageo, which it said looked to be “priced for perfection”. Diageo shares fell 92.5p to 3587.5p as Deutsche Bank downgraded from hold to sell with a new target of 3230p.

The FTSE 250 index declined 170.41 points to 19,180.86, with cruise ship operator Carnival losing recent gains with a fall of 7% and Wizz Air down 3%.

B&M sticks to guidance despite sales fall

08:13 , Graeme Evans

Discount retailer B&M European Value Retail has reported a 9.1% quarterly decline in UK sales, driven by comparisons with exceptionally strong trading in April last year.

In the eight weeks covering May and June, however, the like-for-like sales performance was down 1.6% as the FTSE 100-listed retailer stuck by guidance for annual earnings in the range of £550 million to £600 million.

Shares rose 2.3p to 382p, with analysts at broker Liberum calling the first quarter update “as positive as we could have hoped for”.

They added: “The most recent trading in May-June is very encouraging. It should reassure that the sequentially improving trend for the rest of the year that is baked into management’s guidance is achievable.”

Wall Street weakness hits markets, oil at $117

07:53 , Graeme Evans

Weaker trading on Wall Street following a poor US consumer confidence reading has set the tone for a downbeat European session today.

Having climbed 1% yesterday thanks to support from stocks in the energy and resources sectors, the FTSE 100 index is expected to lose 50 points this morning.

Declines have already been seen in Asia, where the Hang Seng is down 1.8% and Tokyo’s Nikkei is 1.1% lower.

The pressure comes after the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1.5% and the S&P 500 fell 2%, with the tech-focused Nasdaq down 3% on the latest blow to the growth outlook after US consumer confidence dipped to a 16-month low.

Oil fell back slightly overnight after three sessions of gains, with Brent futures down 0.8% at $117.

The main focus today will be on the interest rate comments of the panellists at the ECB Forum on Central Banking, including Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell and Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey.