Lloyds up 5%, tops FTSE 100
By Clare Hutchison, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) — British stocks gave up gains and turned lower on Wednesday, but banks and mining stocks bucked the downward trend.
The FTSE 100 UK:UKX -0.53% fell 0.7% to 5,401.
The benchmark index gained 1% in the previous session, after better-than-expected U.S. housing data and positive economic news from Europe buoyed the market.
Essar Energy PLC UK:ESSR -3.67% was the biggest loser, sliding 4.1% in early afternoon trading. The company said Wednesday that its chairman would step aside temporarily. Ravi Ruia is currently under investigation in India for allegedly suppressing facts about the extent of an equity holding in another company.
After a rally in the previous session, ITV PLC UK:ITV -2.88% gave back some of its gains on Wednesday. Shares in the television company fell 3.4%.
Sage Group PLC UK:SGE -2.30% dropped 2.6%. The software company said it had purchased almost 200,000 of its shares on Wednesday.
Oil companies also pulled back on Wednesday. Cairn Energy PLC UK:CNE -2.36% declined by 3% and BG Group PLC UK:BG -1.69% fell 2%. AMEC PLC UK:AMEC -2.18% declined by 2.1% and Petrofac Ltd. UK:PFC -1.74% dipped 2.2%.
Britain’s major banks were up in afternoon trading. Lloyds Banking Group PLC UK:LLOY +5.84% LYG +6.25% was the index’s biggest climber in morning trade, adding 5%. Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC UK:RBS +2.24% RBS +1.77% advanced 1.6% and Barclays PLC BCS +1.93% UK:BARC +2.80% increased 1.7%.
The European Central Bank on Wednesday offered loans to 523 euro-area banks as part of a three-year funding operation, designed to ease liquidity. A breakdown of which financial institutions took the loans was not immediately available, but a total of $641 billion was handed out, which was well above a Reuters consensus forecast of $408 billion.
Mining stocks traded mostly higher in afternoon trade, with Antofagasta PLC UK:ANTO +1.86% up 1.5%. Fresnillo PLC UK:FRES +0.52% and Glencore International PLC UK:GLEN +0.99% climbed 0.7% and 1% respectively.
Insurers Old Mutual PLC UK:OML +2.09% and Aviva PLC UK:AV +1.21% were also up. Old Mutual shares added 1.5% and Aviva gained 0.6%.
Clare Hutchison is a MarketWatch reporter, based in London.
