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London open: Stocks fall as oil continues to slide
UK stocks declined on Friday as crude prices continued to slide, sending oil producers into the red.
Premier Oil, Royal Dutch Shell and BP were among the fallers as Brent crude dropped 0.1% to $39.68 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate dipped 0.2% to $36.68 per barrel at 0854 GMT.
“With Brent Crude now firmly below $40 per barrel the European markets had little chance of opening in the green this morning,” said Connor Campbell, financial analyst at Spreadex.
“Falling by another 20 points the FTSE could very well fall to a fresh three-month low this Friday if the current commodity situation intensifies any further.”
On the economic data front, a report on UK construction output at 0930 GMT is expected to show a 1.1% fall in October.
At the same time the Bank of England and GfK will publish the Inflation Attitudes Survey, a day after the central bank decided to keep interest rates unchanged amid low inflation.
In the US, a report on retail sales from the Commerce Department at 1330 GMTis forecast to reveal retail sales rose 0.3% in November from a year ago. Sales increased just 0.1% in October but Black Friday and Cyber Monday discounts last month may have given numbers a boost last month.
The University of Michigan’s consumer confidence report at 1500 GMT is also due on Friday. Analysts expect a preliminary estimate of the sentiment index to increase to 92 in December from 91.3 in November.
The US economic data comes ahead of the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting on 15-16 of December. The Fed, which is monitoring data closely, is widely expected to raise interest rates.
In company news, Bellway gained after saying it expects total completions and average selling prices to rise in the full year as it reported an “excellent” start to the current financial year.
Legal & General slumped after announcing it will cease quarterly reporting in 2016 following regulatory changes that removed requirements for interim statements.
Capita was on the back foot as it said it is on track to deliver low double digit underlying revenue growth for the full year, supported by its bid pipeline.
