By Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch
Royal Mail hit by broker downgrade
MADRID (MarketWatch) -- U.K. stocks were looking down the barrel
of a third session of losses on Tuesday, weighed down as
heavyweight HSBC Holdings PLC continued to feel the sting of
tax-evasion revelations, and as big-oil names stumbled alongside
falling oil prices.
Worries over Greece also kept a lid on enthusiasm for perceived
riskier assets. The FTSE 100 index fell 0.5% to 6,802.37, as other
European indexes also slipped into the red. Those markets have been
suffering amid escalating brinkmanship between Greece and its
eurozone partners.
Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis has reportedly asked
eurozone finance ministers for a EUR10 billion ($11.3 billion)
bridging loan, and will present his proposal at Wednesday's meeting
of euro-area finance ministers in Brussels.
The most heavily weighted U.K. stock in the index, HSBC (HSBC) ,
fell 1.8%, on the heels of a 1.6% drop Monday. That decline came
after media reports focused on fresh details of tax-evasion claims
at the bank and its dealings with dictators and arms dealers.
Read: HSBC should be probed, Democratic senator says
Other heavyweight banks were also weighing on the index, with
Barclays PLC (BCS) dropping 1.5% and Standard Chartered PLC off
2%.
Oil names fell as oil prices continued to back away from recent
gains. March crude futures (CLH5) were down 76 cents to $52.10 a
barrel. Shares of BP PLC (BP) dropped 1%, and Royal Dutch Shell PLC
(RDSA) (RDSB) lost 1%.
A broker downgrade hit shares of Royal Mail Group PLC . The mail
carrier was off nearly 4% after J.P. Morgan Cazenove cut it to
neutral from overweight, citing a "diminished risk/reward profile"
and concerns about a near-term decline of consensus estimates.
While decliners outstripped gainers, retailer Marks &
Spencer Group PLC was among the stocks moving in a positive
direction, up 2%.
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