By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
U.K. stocks fell Thursday, with investors assessing a raft of
financial results from Royal Dutch Shell PLC and others, as
global-growth worries linger in the background.
The FTSE 100 was down 0.5% to 6,914.60, with only the energy
group moving higher. A loss Thursday would be the index's third in
a row.
The blue-chip index on Wednesday stumbled 1.2%
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ftse-100-in-the-red-as-mining-barclays-shares-struggle-2015-04-29),
the largest percentage decline since March 31. Stocks globally were
shaken lower after data showed U.S. gross domestic product grew
much more slowly than anticipated in the first quarter.
But the benchmark FTSE 100 was still on track for a monthly gain
of 2.3%.
On Thursday, Shell (RDSB) shares were up 0.9% after the British
oil major said first-quarter profit rose
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/shell-profit-up-7-despite-sharp-fall-in-revenue-2015-04-30-24855048),
although revenue fell sharply. Profit on a current cost-of-supplies
basis, similar to net income that U.S. oil companies report, rose
to $4.76 billion from $4.16 billion a year earlier. Revenue fell to
$65.71 billion from $109.66 billion a year ago.
But Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) shares dropped 2.1% after the
company swung to first-quarter net loss of 446 million pounds
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/rbs-posts-loss-on-restructuring-litigation-costs-2015-04-30)($688.6
million). The bank, which is 80% owned by the U.K. government, was
hurt by restructuring and litigation charges.
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