LONDON MARKETS: FTSE 100 Slumps More Than 1%, With Oil Shares In The Red
26 September 2016 - 6:39PM
Dow Jones News
By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
Lloyds down 3% on ratings downgrade
U.K. stocks dropped Monday, with the week starting off with
energy shares under pressure as oil producers gather for industry
talks this week.
The FTSE 100 index fell 1.2% to 6,828.80. The index on Friday
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/uk-stocks-pull-back-led-lower-by-drops-for-miners-2016-09-23)
ended down less than 0.1%. But it ended last week higher by 3%, the
biggest weekly advance since the week ended July 1.
Oil shares across Europe were in the red Monday, as both members
in and outside of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting
Countries were meeting this week in Algiers at the International
Energy Forum. Investors will watch for any news that producers will
agree to curb oil output at a time the market is grappling with an
oil glut.
Oil major BP PLC (BP.LN) (BP.LN) fell 1.7% and Royal Dutch Shell
PLC (RDSB.LN) (RDSB.LN) lost 1.6% as oil prices pared gains.
"We remain skeptical that an agreement will be reached this
week," said Charalambos Pissouros, senior analyst at IronFX Global,
in a note.
"After all, the conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran was the
reason that a freeze was rejected in Doha. Even if participants
manage to reach consensus this time, OPEC may need to hold an
extraordinary meeting to discuss further details before a deal is
reached, according to recent headlines," he added.
Other movers: Tesco PLC (TSCO.LN) was down 1.5% following a
Telegraph newspaper report
(http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2016/09/24/tesco-setback-as-pension-black-hole-balloons-to-5bn/)
that the supermarket chain's pension deficit has doubled to more
than GBP5 billion ($6.4 billion) over the past year, which could
result in the delay of reinstating dividend payments.
Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LLOY.LN) (LLOY.LN) shares dropped 3.1%
following a ratings downgrade to sell from neutral at Goldman
Sachs.
WPP PLC (WPP.LN) moved 1.2% lower after Jefferies downgraded the
advertising agency's rating to hold from buy, saying "WPP positives
are priced in."
Carnival PLC shares (CCL.LN) were off 1.4% ahead of the release
of the cruise operator's financial results.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 26, 2016 04:24 ET (08:24 GMT)
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