U.K. stocks fell notably on Thursday, with ex-dividend trades and B&M European Value Retail’s downbeat earnings outlook weighing on markets.
The British pound held steady on the back of upbeat services sector data showing the strongest rise in business activity in 24 years last month.
The benchmark FTSE 100 dropped 50 points, or 0.7 percent, to 7,057, snapping a three-day winning streak.
Discount retailer B&M European Value Retail lost nearly 3 percent. The company reported better-than-expected annual profits but warned of many uncertainties as the COVID-19 pandemic subsides.
Telecoms company BT Group fell 2.7 percent after a downgrade to ‘sell’ from ‘hold’ at Deutsche Bank.
Energy firm National Grid tumbled almost 5 percent and home improvement retailer Kingfisher gave up 3 percent on going ex-dividend.
FTSE 100 Drifts Lower Ahead Of US Data
2021-06-03 09:29:01
