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London open: Stocks fall on oil price retreat, Brexit fears
London stocks fell on Friday as oil prices retreated and uncertainty surrounding the European Union referendum grew.
Oil prices dropped after rising earlier this week on continued supply disruptions and government data showing a decrease in US weekly crude inventories.
At 0834 BST, Brent crude fell 0.83% to $51.52 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate dipped 0.99% to $50.06 per barrel.
Meanwhile, with the EU referendum fast approaching, investors will continue monitor developments on Friday. Britain votes on its EU membership on 23 June.
Labour Party deputy leader Tom Watson and shadow cabinet colleagues are expected to warn in a report on Friday that leaving the EU would lead to an emergency budget, further cuts in public spending and tax rises.
On Thursday night, London Mayor Boris Johnson tried to persuade voters to side with the Leave campaign in a televised debate. Johnson urged Britain to “take back control” and “prosper as never before” outside of the EU as he put forward his case alongside Conservative lawmaker Andrea Leadsom and Labour’s Gisela Stuart.
On the opposing side were Nicola Sturgeon, the first minister of Scotland, Angela Eagle, a senior Labour Party politician, and Amber Rudd, Britain’s energy secretary.
The pound was down 0.07% against the dollar at $1.448.
In economic data, UK construction output figures are due at 0930 BST and the University of Michigan’s consumer confidence index will be released at 1500 BST.
On the corporate front, Sky shares gained after the broadcaster paid €3.5bn to secure the lion’s share of TV rights to German Bundesliga football matches.
Grocery giant Tesco declined after confirming the proposed sale of its Kipa and Giraffe businesses, as it continues to slim down and focus on its core retail business. The FTSE 100 firm said it has agreed to sell its 95.5% controlling share in Turkish supermarket chain Kipa to Swiss retail group Migros. In a separate transaction, Tesco confirmed it is also selling the Giraffe restaurant chain which it picked up in 2013, to Harry Ramsden’s owner Boparan Restaurants Holdings.
Schroders was in the red as Reuters reported that the company appointed Shigesuke Kashiwagi, former chief financial officer of Nomura Holdings, as its president and country head of Japan.
J Sainsbury has announced it will appoint its chief financial officer John Rogers as chief executive of Home Retail Group on completion of its £1.4bn takeover. Rogers will replace John Walden, who is stepping down from the company. The takeover deal is expected to be completed in the third quarter.
BP and Det norske oljeselskap said they were creating of Aker BP ASA, an independent oil and gas company combining the assets and expertise from both companies’ Norwegian exploration and production operations to form the largest Norwegian independent oil and gas producer. The $1.3bn share deal is aimed at cutting costs, increasing profitability and challenging Statoil’s Norwegian offshore dominance.
