U.K. stocks fell on Friday after commodity prices saw a sharp decline amid dollar strength and uncertainty over Chinese policies to reduce speculation.
A hawkish policy outlook from the U.S. Federal Reserve and weak retail sales figures released earlier in the day also dented sentiment.
U.K. retail sales dropped unexpectedly in May after a sharp growth in April when retail restrictions were eased, data from the Office for National Statistics revealed.
Retail sales dropped 1.4 percent month-on-month in May, reversing a 9.2 percent rise in April and confounding expectations for an increase of 1.6 percent.
On a yearly basis, the retail sales volume growth moderated to 24.6 percent in May from 42.4 percent a month ago. This was also slower than the expected expansion of 29 percent.
The benchmark FTSE 100 dropped 36 points, or half a percent, to 7,117 after declining 0.4 percent in the previous session.
BP Plc fell 1.5 percent and Royal Dutch Shell lost about 2 percent as oil extended losses for a second straight session on dollar strength.
Miners Anglo American, Antofagasta and Glencore were modestly lower as copper headed for its biggest weekly loss since March 2020.
Tesco, Britain’s biggest retailer, lost 2.5 percent after it reported a sharp slowdown in underlying U.K. sales growth in its first quarter.
Inchcape shares jumped 3.8 percent after the automotive distributor delivered a better-than-expected performance in the first half and said full-year pre-tax profit will be “significantly ahead” of market consensus.
Irish food company Kerry advanced 1.8 percent. The company has agreed to sell its Meats and Meals business in the U.K. and Ireland to Pilgrim’s Pride for €819m.
Market Analysis
FTSE 100 Slides As Commodities Tumble On Firm Dollar
2021-06-18 09:31:14
