By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch)—The British stock index extended losses in midday trade on Wednesday, led by banks and oil firms, after downbeat employment and manufacturing data from the euro zone underlined recession fears in the region.
The FTSE 100 index UK:UKX -1.16% gave up 0.5% to 5,781.18, partly erasing a 1.3% gain from Tuesday.
Heavyweight oil firms pressured the index, with oil prices on the decline. Royal Dutch Shell PLC UK:RDSA -2.10% UK:RDSB -1.80% RDS.A -2.10% RDS.B -1.78% slipped 1.6%, while BP PLC UK:BP -1.89% BP -1.29% lost 1.7%, a day after first-quarter earnings missed expectations.
Banks also weighed. Standard Chartered PLC UK:STAN -3.94% fell 3.2%, Lloyds Banking Group PLC UK:LLOY -4.75% LYG -3.54% shed 2.8% and Barclays PLC UK:BARC -5.66% BCS -4.94% gave up 3%.
Banks were among the biggest gainers on Tuesday, following upbeat earnings from Lloyds and a surprise rise in a gauge of U.S. manufacturing activity.
U.K. stocks were also sent lower as data showed unemployment for the euro zone rose to 10.9% in March, reaching a new euro-era high.
Separately, manufacturing activity for the 17-nation currency bloc shrank at a faster pace than previously estimated in April, with Germany falling to a 33-month low. Euro-zone manufacturing PMI confirms April drop
Retailers, however, were on the rise in the U.K. Next PLC UK:NXT +2.38% rose 2.1% after reporting a small increase in first-quarter sales but a 12% surge in online sales. Next PLC's sales inch up as online surges
Kingfisher PLC UK:KGF -0.03% tracked Next higher and added 2.4%, while luxury-goods group Burberry Group PLC UK:BRBY +1.89% BURBY +0.48% rose 2%.
British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC UK:BSY +1.45% advanced 2% as net profit for the nine months ended March 31 jumped 19%, helped by higher revenue and a break fee from News Corp. NWS -0.05% for its failed takeover. Read about BSkyB.
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Sara Sjolin is a MarketWatch reporter, based in London.
