AGL 38.09 Decreased By ▼ -0.07 (-0.18%)
AIRLINK 136.34 Increased By ▲ 2.15 (1.6%)
BOP 9.20 Increased By ▲ 0.35 (3.95%)
CNERGY 4.72 Increased By ▲ 0.03 (0.64%)
DCL 8.85 Increased By ▲ 0.18 (2.08%)
DFML 38.34 Decreased By ▼ -1.44 (-3.62%)
DGKC 85.45 Increased By ▲ 0.30 (0.35%)
FCCL 35.15 Increased By ▲ 0.25 (0.72%)
FFBL 76.21 Increased By ▲ 0.61 (0.81%)
FFL 12.66 Decreased By ▼ -0.08 (-0.63%)
HUBC 108.70 Decreased By ▼ -0.75 (-0.69%)
HUMNL 14.73 Increased By ▲ 0.63 (4.47%)
KEL 5.58 Increased By ▲ 0.18 (3.33%)
KOSM 7.96 Increased By ▲ 0.21 (2.71%)
MLCF 40.78 Decreased By ▼ -0.59 (-1.43%)
NBP 70.94 Increased By ▲ 1.24 (1.78%)
OGDC 195.25 Increased By ▲ 1.63 (0.84%)
PAEL 26.96 Increased By ▲ 0.75 (2.86%)
PIBTL 7.46 Increased By ▲ 0.04 (0.54%)
PPL 168.02 Increased By ▲ 4.17 (2.55%)
PRL 26.19 Decreased By ▼ -0.17 (-0.64%)
PTC 20.34 Increased By ▲ 0.87 (4.47%)
SEARL 92.75 Increased By ▲ 8.35 (9.89%)
TELE 7.84 Decreased By ▼ -0.15 (-1.88%)
TOMCL 35.49 Increased By ▲ 1.44 (4.23%)
TPLP 8.91 Increased By ▲ 0.19 (2.18%)
TREET 17.29 Increased By ▲ 0.11 (0.64%)
TRG 59.27 Decreased By ▼ -1.73 (-2.84%)
UNITY 31.02 Increased By ▲ 2.06 (7.11%)
WTL 1.37 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
BR100 10,901 Increased By 125.5 (1.16%)
BR30 32,654 Increased By 420 (1.3%)
KSE100 101,357 Increased By 1274.6 (1.27%)
KSE30 31,488 Increased By 295 (0.95%)

Britain's benchmark share index lost more than 1 percent on Tuesday, as worries about the US subprime mortgage market dragged on banks, but renewed merger and acquisition talk lent some support. Banking stocks led the FTSE 100's decline, with Barclays losing 3 percent, HBOS down 2.2 percent and Northern Rock dropping 2.6 percent as concerns about a suffering US subprime mortgage market spread to Europe.
Across the Atlantic, data showing that retail sales unexpectedly declined last month aggravated economic concerns. The FTSE 100 ended 72.1 points, or 1.16 percent lower, at 6,161.2, amid a pan-European sell-off as investors remained cautious after a recent slide in world stock markets stoked a climate of global economic concern.
"All the evidence suggests that this is nothing more than a normal, healthy correction in the continuing bull market," said Jim Wood-Smith, head of research at Williams de Broe. "However, there is a huge caveat to this ... which is that everybody is saying it's a healthy correction," he added, expressing concern that the market may be too quick to dismiss the possibility of a greater equity slide ahead.
Leading the downside, brewing giant SABMiller shed 4.4 percent after Dutch brewer Heineken's termination of its South African subsidiary's licence to manufacture and distribute Amstel Lager. M&A activity abounded, with the world's largest confectionery group Cadbury Schweppes topping the FTSE 100 leaderboard. It was up 10.5 percent after saying activist investor Nelson Peltz had built up a 3 percent stake, sparking talk he wanted to split the company to unlock value.
M&A speculation also spurred Alliance Boots, which rose 2.1 percent after The Times reported that Stefano Pessina, deputy chairman of the drugs wholesaler and retailer, and private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts are considering whether to raise their joint bid.
The Alliance Boots board has rejected their 10 billion pound take-over approach. Among midcaps, music and books retailer HMV Group plunged 15.9 percent after it issued a profit warning and disappointed some analysts with a turnaround plan aimed at tackling competition from supermarkets and Internet retailers.
Shares in Wolseley, the world's largest distributor of plumbing and heating products, lost 3.9 percent as investors cited worries over the US housing market. Commodities also weighed, with US crude oil trading under $60 a barrel on expectations that Opec will keep output steady at its Thursday meeting. BP lost 0.9 percent and rival Royal Dutch Shell dropped 0.8 percent. Chilean copper miner Antofagasta fell 1.2 percent after it posted an 86 percent rise in annual profit but said recent market volatility was likely to continue.

Copyright Reuters, 2007

Comments

Comments are closed.