London stocks fall as major earnings roll in; Persimmon jumps
Britain’s FTSE 100 slipped for a third straight day as losses in construction materials offset gains in energy stocks, while shares of Persimmon rose to the top of the index on upbeat forecast.
The blue-chip index (.FTSE) edged down 0.1%, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 (.FTMC) shed 0.2%, as of 0715 GMT.
Persimmon Plc (PSN.L) gained 3.4% after the house builder said it expects to build homes at the top end of its annual guidance range.
Construction sector (.FTNMX501010) lost 2.3%, dragged by a 2.8% fall in CRH as the building materials giant expects U.S. profit boost but says Europe remains challenging.
Oil and gas stocks (.FTNMX601010) however rose 0.7% as crude prices gained on reports of falling U.S. crude oil and fuel inventories.
GSK (GSK.L) added 0.7% after the drugmaker beat expectations for its first-quarter revenue and profit, helped by sales of its blockbuster shingles vaccine Shingrix.
Standard Chartered PLC (StanChart) (STAN.L) edged up 0.3% after the lender’s first-quarter pretax profit jumped 21%, beating expectations.
Reckitt Benckiser (RKT.L) lost 1.1% on naming company insider Kris Licht as its new CEO.
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