LONDON MARKETS: FTSE 100 Slammed By Growth Fears, Oil Rout
February 08 2016 - 12:21PM
Dow Jones News
By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
Randgold lifts dividends, stock leaps 13%
U.K. stocks took another beating on Monday, as fears of slower
global economic growth and continued jitters in the oil market
punched investor sentiment.
The FTSE 100 index tumbled 2.7% to close at 5,689.36, its lowest
close since Jan. 20 and the second straight session in red. U.S.
stocks also tumbled
(http://blogs.marketwatch.com/thetell/2016/02/08/stock-market-live-blog-slammed-by-oil-plunge-techs-extend-selloff/).
The index ended last week
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/uk-stocks-wobble-as-miners-lose-hold-on-gains-2016-02-05)
down 3.9%, its largest weekly slide since early January, after a
mixed U.S. jobs report, jitters in the oil market and a dovish Bank
of England quarterly inflation report.
Read: OECD indicators: Slowdowns ahead for Japan, U.S
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oecd-indicators-slowdowns-ahead-for-japan-us-2016-02-08).
Those concerns lingered in Monday's trade, with a slightly
higher open overruled by a renewed selloff in oil. West Texas
Intermediate crude oil slumped more than 1%
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-pops-above-31-a-barrel-as-traders-keep-close-watch-on-the-dollar-2016-02-08)
and briefly dipped below $30 a barrel.
Shares of Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSB.LN) (RDSB.LN) lost 1%, BG
Group PLC (BG.LN) fell 0.5%, and Tullow Oil PLC (TLW.LN) slid 6%.
BP PLC (BP.LN) (BP.LN) gave up 1.9%.
It was a brighter trading day for some shares in the mining
sector, however. Shares of Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS.LN)
(RRS.LN) rose to the top of the London benchmark, up 13%, marking
its biggest one-day jump since 2009
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/randgold-lifts-dividend-after-record-output-2016-02-08).
The rally came after the West African miner said it's lifting its
dividend on the back of record output. The stock was also boosted
by a 3% rally in gold prices
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gold-jumps-to-near-4-month-high-as-investors-turn-to-safety-2016-02-08).
Fresnillo PLC (FRES.LN), another precious-metals miner, jumped
7.8%.
Among other movers, shares of Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC (RR.LN)
(RR.LN) dropped 2.7% ahead of its earnings report due Friday. The
aerospace and defense company is tipped to announce a dividend cut,
said Tony Cross, market analyst at Trustnet Direct, in a note.
BT Group PLC (BT.A.LN) fell 4.4% after the telecom company said
it's looking for a new finance director
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/bt-on-hunt-for-new-finance-chief-2016-02-08)
to succeed Tony Chanmugam.
HSBC Holdings PLC (HSBA.LN) (HSBA.LN) (HSBA.LN) lost 4.2% after
British newspaper the Telegraph reported the bank is expected to
decide this week
(http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/epic/hsba/12145047/HSBC-to-stay-in-London-as-board-meets-for-final-decision-on-HQ.html)
whether to move its headquarters outside the U.K.
Read:Why a selloff in European banks is ominous
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/why-a-selloff-in-european-banks-is-ominous-2016-02-07)
Outside the main U.K. stock benchmark, shares of Imagination
Technologies Group PLC (IMG.LN) fell 1.9% after the supplier to
Apple Inc. (AAPL) warned it will report a loss for the full year
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/apple-supplier-imagination-tech-warns-of-loss-2016-02-08).
On the data front, the BDO business optimism index showed
business confidence in the U.K. has fallen to a three-year low
(http://www.bdo.co.uk/press/business-confidence-falls-to-three-year-low),
fueled partly by uncertainty over the upcoming vote on Britain's EU
membership.
Investing Insights: A global markets survival guide
If you'll be in London on Tuesday, Feb. 23, you're invited to
join us for an evening of cocktails and conversation on the topics
of shifting monetary policy, growth, currencies, and the outlook
for investing opportunities and risks in European and global
markets.
Our panelists for the evening will include MarketWatch Personal
Finance and Investing Columnist Robert Powell; Mark Hulbert, Editor
of the Hulbert Financial Digest; and Virginie Maisonneuve, Founder
and Managing Director of Maisonneuve Global Advisors.
The event is free and open to the public, but reservations are
required. For more information or to RSVP for the event, please
email (MarketWatchevent@wsj.com).
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 08, 2016 12:06 ET (17:06 GMT)
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