LONDON MARKETS: Tumble For Retailers Weighs On FTSE 100

U.K. blue-chip benchmark tries to hold onto record; U.K. house prices rise

U.K. blue-chip stocks turned lower Tuesday, edging back from a record made in the prior session, as shares in retailers declined following downbeat industry sales figures.

Among individual stocks, security services firm G4S PLC's shares dropped by the most in more than a year after a trading update.

What markets are doing: The FTSE 100 index was down 0.2% at 7,547.57, with health care, consumer-related and financial shares in the red. But the basic materials and oil and gas sectors were higher. On Monday, the benchmark ended at a record of 7,562.28 (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ftse-100-hovers-around-record-high-as-miners-advance-2017-11-06), but on a rise of less than 0.1%.

The pound fetched $1.3144. That was down from $1.3171 on Monday, when sterling climbed 0.7% against the dollar, according to FactSet data.

What's moving markets: Retail sales rose 0.2% in October, the slowest rate of growth since May, according to figures from the British Retail Consortium and KPMG. Retail stocks fell after the data, which KPMG said should cause concern ahead of the Christmas shopping season.

"October marked yet another reversal of fortunes for retailers, reinforcing just how volatile consumer spend has been," said Paul Martin, head of retail at KPMG, in a statement.

"Despite the positive picture last month, these latest figures will be a real disappointment and not the start to the golden quarter retailers had hoped for," he said.

Meanwhile, energy stocks were up as oil prices (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-prices-hover-at-2-year-highs-as-investors-watch-for-fallout-from-saudi-shake-up-2017-11-06) traded around two-year highs. WTI (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-prices-hover-at-2-year-highs-as-investors-watch-for-fallout-from-saudi-shake-up-2017-11-06) and Brent crude futures , however, were taking a small breather after they jumped more than 3% each on Tuesday.

Investors are also keeping an eye on the pound, which as of Monday, has added roughly 0.9% over two sessions, according to WSJ Market Data Group. One factor could be the Brexit negotiations, which are slated to restart this week.

Stock movers: G4S shares (GFS.LN) slid 6.4% after the world's largest security provider said in a trading update (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/g4s-revenue-grows-says-trading-in-line-2017-11-07) that it expects full-year revenue growth of between 3% to 4%, compared with its August forecast for revenue growth in 2017 of 4% to 6%.

Shares of retailers Marks & Spencer Group PLC (MKS.LN) and Next PLC (NXT.LN) fell 1.2% and 0.5%, respectively, after the industry sales report. Kingfisher PLC (KGF.LN) lost 1.3%.

Oil majors BP PLC (BP.LN) (BP.LN) and Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSB.LN) (RDSB.LN) were up 1.2% and 0.5%, respectively. Meanwhile, miner BHP Billiton PLC (BLT.LN) (BHP.AU) (BHP.AU) gained 1% following a 3.9% rally in its Australian-listed shares on the back of higher iron ore prices. That helped propel Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index to a near 10-year high.

Sky PLC (SKY.LN) shares were down 1.1%. The move came after reports late Monday that 21st Century Fox Inc. (FOX) (FOX) recently held talks to sell its 39% stake in the broadcaster (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/disney-held-talks-to-buy-21st-century-fox-assets-2017-11-06) to Walt Disney Co. (DIS) , along with other assets.

Associated British Foods PLC (ABF.LN) fell 3.7%, even as the company posted better-than-expected yearly pretax profit. ABF said its 2017 earnings were boosted by sales (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ab-food-2017-profit-rises-boosted-by-primark-2017-11-07) at its fashion retail business, Primark.

Imperial Brands PLC (IMBBY) shares rose 2.3% after the tobacco giant said it plans a 10% rise in its final dividend (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/imperial-brands-2017-profit-rises-tops-forecasts-2017-11-07) and said its "growth brands" performed strongly during fiscal 2017.

Economic data: House prices in the U.K. grew 4.5% on an annual basis in October, the fastest rate since January, according to a Halifax report released Tuesday. The average price of GBP225,826 is the highest on record, it said.

"The fact that the supply of new homes and existing properties available for sale remains low, combined with historically low mortgage rates and a high employment rate, continues to support house prices and is likely to do so over the coming months," said Russell Galley, managing director at Halifax Community Bank, in a statement.

But housing stocks were down, with Barratt Developments PLC (BDEV.LN) off 0.8%.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 07, 2017 06:39 ET (11:39 GMT)