By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Most U.K. stocks were mired in the red
on Friday, setting the FTSE 100 index on track for a third straight
week of losses.
The benchmark index slumped 0.6% to 6,392.65. If it closes
around this level, it would mark the lowest close in a year.
Stocks across Europe have taken a hard beating this week, after
a raft on lackluster data from German spurred concerns the region's
largest economy is heading for a recession.
"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 1.9%, Rio Tinto PLC (RIO)
fell 1.7%, and BHP Billiton PLC (BHP) lost 1.3%.
Shares of British American Tobacco PLC (BTI) dropped 0.8% after
Goldman Sachs cut the company to sell from neutral, according to
Dow Jones Newswires.
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