By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Stocks in the U.K. slipped Thursday,
with energy shares dragged down along with plunging oil prices, and
as Centrica PLC shares sank to the bottom of the benchmark FTSE
100.
The FTSE 100 fell 0.1% to 6,888.90, though it finished off
session lows. The index on
Wednesday:(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/tesco-helps-push-ftse-100-higher-2015-02-18)
ended flat as worries waned over Greece's debt deal.
But a series of twists and turns Thursday saw Greece submit a
request for a loan extension, only to have it summarily rejected by
Germany:(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/cracks-still-evident-as-germany-rebuffs-greek-extension-plan-2015-02-19).
The Greek proposal was an attempt to "get a bridging loan without
fulfilling the requirements" of the current bailout program,
Germany said. Stocks on the broader European market finished a
volatile session higher.
In London, Centrica shares fell 8.6%, marking their worst
session since December 2008, according to FactSet data. The slide
came after the parent firm of British Gas swung to a pretax loss of
1.40 billion pounds ($2.16 billion). It's cutting exploration and
production capital expenditure to GBP650 million by 2016, roughly
40% below 2014 levels.
"Further wrath" for the shares came as Centrica cut its final
2014 dividend by 30%, or "twice as much as consensus" said Mike van
Dulken, head of research at Accendo Markets, in a Thursday note.
"Management has launched a strategic review to boost investor
confidence, but results are not due until July and benefits are
likely to be slow to materialize," he said.
Elsewhere in the utilities group, shares of SSE PLC fell 0.5%,
but United Utilities Group rose 0.7% and National Grid PLC gained
2%.
Energy shares were under pressure as oil prices (CLH5) fell,
though crude caught a bit of a break late in European trade
following a U.S. government report that showed a rise in weekly
crude supplies was smaller than a "gargantuan" increase reported by
a trade group late
Wednesday:(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/crude-oil-plunges-below-50-after-shocking-supply-data-2015-02-19).
Shares of oil producer Tullow Oil PLC lost 2.7% and BG Group PLC
fell 2.6%. Oil major Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSB) lost 2.1% and BP
PLC (BP) fell 1.2%. Energy engineering firm Weir Group PLC was
pulled 1.7% lower.
But as oil prices slumped, shares of air carriers International
Consolidated Airlines PLC and EasyJet PLC climbed 1.9% and 2.1%,
respectively.
Also among advancers, miner Randgold Resources Ltd. added 0.7%,
while engine maker Rolls-Royce PLC led the FTSE 100 as its shares
rose 2.9%.
Meanwhile, shares of Babcock International Group PLC dropped
5.7% after U.S.-based Leidos Holdings Inc. (LDOS) beat it in a bid
to manage commodities and services for the U.K. Ministry of
Defence. Jefferies in a note said a win by Babcock would have
boosted like-for-like growth by 4%, but the "share-price reaction
looks overdone, and we would suggest this is a buying
opportunity."
Shares of BAE Systems PLC (BAESY) closed up 0.7%. They had
fallen earlier in the session, after the defense company posted a
12% drop in full-year earnings before impairment
charges:(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/bae-systems-bullish-despite-earnings-decline-2015-02-19-3485659).
On the FTSE 250, Rexam PLC shares rose 6.1% after the
beverage-can maker agreed to be
purchased:(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/rexam-agrees-to-be-bought-by-rival-ball-in-44-billion-deal-2015-02-19)
by rival U.S. drinks can maker Ball Corp. (BLL) in a deal valuing
Rexam at GBP4.4 billion ($6.8 billion).
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