(Reuters) – Britain’s FTSE 100 closed lower on Wednesday, dragged down by consumer staples and industrials, while investors assessed a slew of corporate earnings.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 closed down 0.2%, while the domestically focused mid-cap index edged 0.3% lower.
In the market, consumer staples firms fell. Associated British Foods dropped 13.2%, logging its worst day since 2016, and fell to the bottom of the FTSE 100, after saying underlying sales at its Primark clothing business will decline in its second half.
Other consumer staples stocks such as Marks & Spencer and Diageo were down 3% and 1.3%, respectively.
Travel and leisure stocks declined 1.9%, with British Airways owner IAG down 4.1%, Wizz Air falling 2.6% and EasyJet down 2.2%.
Some industrial stocks such as RELX and Experian also fell 4.2% and 1.1%, respectively.
The technology index lost 3.4%. Software firm Sage, initially lifted by Oracle’s results, was down about 1%.
Medical equipment and services lost 1.6% with Smith+Nephew and Convatec falling 1.5% and 1.8%, respectively.
Conversely, Heavyweight bank stocks advanced 1.1%, with HSBC up 1.8%.
Aerospace and defence company BAE Systems added 2.2%, while Rolls-Royce rose 1.2%.
The life insurers index rose 1.7% led by Prudential that gained 3.4% to top the FTSE 100.
In other moves, Vistry fell 5.7% after saying economic uncertainties could continue to weigh on demand after its first-half profit dropped by a third.
Anglo American advanced 1.6%, a day after gaining 9.1% on a $53 billion merger deal with Canada’s Teck Resources. Berenberg upgraded the miner’s rating to “hold” from “sell”.
London Stock Exchange Group was down about 1% after falling 4.7% in the previous session, hit by competition concerns. However, JPMorgan and other analysts remained constructive.
Haleon’s rose 1.4% after Goldman Sachs upgraded the consumer healthcare group’s rating to “buy” from “neutral.”
Serica Energy dropped 14.5% after cutting its 2025 production outlook.
(Reporting by Sukriti Gupta; Editing by Sahal Muhammed, Alexandra Hudson)
