By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
Sky climbs after profit doubles
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- The U.K.'s benchmark stock index dropped
from a five-month high on Wednesday, with oil companies adding
pressure on the back of a slide in crude prices.
The FTSE 100 index lost 0.8% to 6,817.41, on track to break a
two-day winning streak. On Tuesday, it closed at the highest level
since early September 2014, boosted by a 7% rally in oil prices and
eased jitters over Greece.
On Wednesday, oil futures retreated more than 3% and pulled the
U.K.-listed oil majors down with them. Shares of Tullow Oil PLC
lost 4.2%, BP PLC (BP) dropped 1.4%, and Royal Dutch Shell PLC
(RDSB) shaved off 1.9%.
Shares of Hargreaves Lansdown PLC slumped 5.6% after the asset
manager said the impact from lower interest rates likely will hit
revenue growth in 2015.
On a more upbeat note, shares of Sky PLC climbed 1.1%. The
satellite broadcaster said profit more than doubled in the first
half of the fiscal year.
Miners also moved higher after metals advanced as the People's
Bank of China cut its reserve-requirement ratio for banks by 50
basis points to 19.5% in a bid to boost lending to businesses.
Shares of Fresnillo PLC climbed 1.5%, Randgold Resources Ltd. added
0.9% and Antofagasta PLC gained 0.4%.
Low-cost Eastern European airline Wizz Air said it plans to
float on the London Stock Exchange, aiming to raise 150 million
euros ($171.85 million).
In economic news in the U.K., the Markit/CIPS purchasing
managers index showed the country's services sector got off to a
strong start in 2015. The index rose to 57.2 in January, up from
55.8 in December and beating analyst expectations.
"Policy makers will be reassured by the signs of the economy
having enjoyed a robust start to the year, but with inflation
falling to 0.5% in January, there seems little likelihood of the
[Bank of England's] Monetary Policy Committee voting to hike
interest rates any time soon," said Chris Williamson, chief
economist at Markit, in a note.
The BOE meets tomorrow to decide on interest rates, and
consensus is for no changes to either interest rates or
quantitative easing. The decision is out at noon London time, or 7
a.m. Eastern Time.
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