LONDON MARKETS: FTSE 100 Erases Gains For The Year, As Election Grips Investors
19 April 2017 - 6:48PM
Dow Jones News
By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
Parliamentary vote due later; Burberry slides after sales
update
U.K. blue-chip stocks on Wednesday slipped and turned lower for
the year, as investors waited for a parliamentary vote expected to
confirm Britain will hold an early general election in June.
Meanwhile, earnings reports have been rolling in. Shares of
luxury goods maker Burberry Group PLC struggled after its financial
update.
The FTSE 100 shed 0.2% at 7,131.80, with only the basic
materials and financial groups printing gains. The index on Tuesday
slid 2.5% to close at 7,147.50, the largest single-session
percentage drop since June 27, 2016. That was just after U.K.'s
vote to leave the European Union.
The fall on Wednesday means the benchmark lost its year-to-date
gain, and is now down 0.2% for 2017.
On Tuesday, British Prime Minister Theresa May said she wanted
to hold a snap general election on June 8
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/uk-leader-theresa-may-calls-snap-general-election-on-june-8-2017-04-18),
rather than waiting until 2020 as scheduled. The move is seen as a
bid to strengthen May's position in Brexit negotiations with EU
officials, as a resounding win would give the government a mandate
for its approach.
She will seek parliamentary approval for the vote
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/uk-lawmakers-on-wednesday-expected-to-ok-snap-election-2017-04-19)
on Wednesday, likely after Prime Minister's Questions at around
lunchtime. May is widely expected to receive the required backing
of two-thirds of lawmakers.
The pound was buying $1.2826 ahead of the parliamentary vote,
compared with $1.2841 late Tuesday. Sterling had been trading above
$1.25 early Tuesday.
Stock movers: Mining stocks were higher Wednesday, rebounding
from the previous day's battering. Shares in the sector were
dragged down by a slide in iron ore prices, which were hit by
concerns about Chinese growth.
Glencore PLC (GLEN.LN) rose 1.8%, and Antofagasta PLC (ANTO.LN)
moved up 1.9%.
Among individual movers, Burberry (BRBY.LN) sank 6.4%, its
biggest loss since October 2016, after the luxury goods retailer
gave a financial update. It said second-half underlying revenue was
down at GBP1.61 billion
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/burberry-revenue-down-but-boosted-by-fx-gains-2017-04-19)
($20.6 billion) although it was boosted by foreign exchange
gains.
Associated British Foods PLC shares (ABF.LN) jumped 3.1% to lead
the FTSE 100. The food ingredients producer and owner of retailer
Primark raised its dividend and said its outlook for its fiscal
2017 has improved.
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ab-foods-profit-up-36-as-primark-sales-beat-view-2017-04-19)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 19, 2017 04:33 ET (08:33 GMT)
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