By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- The U.K.'s FTSE 100 dropped for the
first time in three days on Thursday, with miners leading the
charge lower, as metal prices slumped.
The benchmark traded 0.9% lower at 6,398.92, after jumping 0.8%
on Wednesday. The rest of Europe was also lower, as traders
digested news that the U.S. Federal Reserve has ended its
long-running stimulus plan, known also as quantitative-easing, or
QE.
Mining firms weakened, with precious-metals miners posting the
biggest losses as gold prices(GCZ4) slumped 1.7%. Shares of
Randgold Resources Ltd. lost 3.4%, and Fresnillo PLC dropped 3.2%.
Among larger miners, Anglo American PLC gave up 2.9%, Rio Tinto PLC
(RIO) slipped 1.6%, and BHP Billiton PLC (BHP) dropped 1.5%.
Meanwhile, shares of bank Barclays PLC (BCS) opened in positive
territory, but erased gains later in the morning to trade 0.5%
lower. The bank reported third-quarter adjusted pretax profit that
beat expectations, but booked a 500 million pound ($800 million)
legal provision related to investigations into the alleged
manipulation of the foreign-exchange market.
Other banks also fell. Shares of HSBC Holdings PLC (HSBC) are
down 0.8%, and Lloyds Banking Group PLC's (LYG) stock is off
0.7%.
On a more upbeat note, shares of St. James's Place PLC climbed
3.1% after the wealth manager said funds under management climbed
in the third quarter.
Outside the main index in London, Balfour Beatty PLC fell 2.9%
after Jefferies cut the construction company to underperform from
hold.
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