By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.K. stocks closed lower for a third
straight day on Tuesday, with drug makers leading the charge south,
while mining firms recouped some losses suffered in the previous
day's selloff.
The FTSE 100 index dropped 0.6% to close at 6,304.58, adding to
a 0.6% loss from Monday.
Posting one of the biggest losses in the index, Associated
British Foods PLC dropped 1.8% after Credit Suisse cut the firm to
neutral from outperform.
"The long-term story remains very good at ABF, but the shares
look due a pause for breath," analysts Charlie Mills said in a
note.
"The immediate outlook has both positives and negatives--the
industry seems to expect EU sugar prices to edge back (though oddly
the buyers don't), Chinese sugar losses are increasing and
ingredients remain challenging," he said.
On a sector basis, drug makers posted some of the most notable
losses, partly erasing gains from Monday, when the sector
outperformed most of the equity market. Shares of GlaxoSmithKline
PLC (GSK) dropped 1.9% and AstraZeneca PLC fell 0.7%.
Banks were also among decliners. Shares of Barclays PLC (BCS)
dropped 0.7%, Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LYG) fell 0.4% and Standard
Chartered PLC lost 0.6%.
Most oil firms dropped, as oil prices extended losses to the
lowest level since December. Shares of BG Group PLC shaved off 0.6%
and BP PLC (BP) erased 0.2%.
Shares of luxury-goods retailer Burberry Group PLC (BURBY) eased
1.4% as peer firm LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton reported a
slowdown in sales growth in its main fashion and leather-goods
division.
Bucking the negative trend in London, miners rebounded from a
massive selloff on Monday when gold futures plunged $140.30, or
9.3%, the biggest one-day percentage drop since February 1983.
Shares of Fresnillo PLC added 7.5%, Eurasian Natural Resources
Corp. climbed 3.7% and Randgold Resources Ltd. gained 2.8%.
Shares Glencore International PLC (GLCNF) gained 1.3% and
Xstrata PLC picked up 2%, after Chinese authorities cleared a
merger between the two mining firms.
Shares of heavyweight Rio Tinto PLC (RIO) eased 0.4%, as the
miner said a landslide at a big U.S. mine last week will dent
output by around 125,000 metric tons of copper this year.
Outside the main index, shares of platinum miner Lonmin PLC
jumped 7.1%, as platinum prices rebounded and added more than
$25.
Michael Page International PLC gave up 5%, as the recruitment
agency reported a 6.7% drop in first-quarter gross profit.
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