By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch)--Most U.K. stocks were mired in the red on
Friday, sending the FTSE 100 index lower for a fourth straight
day.
The benchmark index slumped 1.4% to 6,339.97, closing at the
lowest level in a year. For the week, the FTSE lost 2.9%.
Stocks across Europe have taken a beating this week, after a
raft on lackluster data from German spurred concerns the region's
largest economy is heading for a recession. Read: Stoxx 600 suffers
worst week in two years amid Germany-led selloff
"This line about Germany slipping into recession is simply
layering on another level of angst to a market that is already wary
of the threat posed by the likes of Ebola in West Africa and
Islamic State in the Middle East," said Tony Cross, market analyst
at Trustnet Direct, in a note Friday.
Mining firms posted some of the biggest losses on Friday, a
reversal from Thursday's upbeat mood when a weaker dollar helped
boost commodity prices. Shares of Anglo American PLC lost 2.3% on
Friday, Randgold Resources Ltd. declined 2.4%, Rio Tinto PLC (RIO)
fell 2.9%, and BHP Billiton PLC (BHP) lost 3.1%.
Shares of British American Tobacco PLC (BTI) dropped 1.5% after
Goldman Sachs cut the company to sell from neutral, according to
Dow Jones Newswires.
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