FTSE loses some fizz as Coca-Cola HBC share price sinks 5pc – London Report
BRITAIN’S top shares yesterday slipped after sobering results from insurance companies and from bottler Coca-Cola HBC.
The FTSE 100 ended down 38.79 points, or 0.6 per cent, at 6,597.37 points, its lowest close since 16 April, meaning it had fallen more than three per cent since a peak seen at the end of July.
The world’s No. 2 bottler of Coca-Cola drinks, sank 5.3 per cent to 1,302p after warning that volumes would fall for the rest of the year, citing a “sudden deterioration” in Russia, its biggest market.
Some traders, however, felt the index had found a floor for now. “They’re [investors are] still a bit nervous… but in the short term it’s fairly well priced in,” TJM Partners head of trading Manoj Ladwa said.
The Bank of England kept interest rates at their record low yesterday, giving Britain’s fas-growing economic recovery more time to build. The European Central Bank also left interest rates unchanged.
Business software company Sage was the top performing stock, climbing 3.08 per cent to 382.10p, Among insurers, RSA shed 3 per cent to end on 430.50p in a choppy day of trading, after it outlined the details of its turnaround plan.
Old Mutual was also down, falling 1.7 per cent to 190.60p, after foreign exchange trends dampened a headline jump in profit, traders said.
But fellow insurer Aviva rose 2.6 per cent to 502.50p, one of the top FTSE 100 gainers, after unveiling a four per cent rise in first-half operating profit as its European and UK general insurance businesses built on a strong start to the year.
ARM Holdings also notched up good gains, rising 2.2 per cent to 870.50p, as US analysts added to some recent positive broker comment on the company, which sells blueprints for chip designs and receives royalties on every chip shipped by partners.
Benchmark, which reckons that royalty revenue will accelerate, lifted its rating on ARM to “buy” from “hold”.
Precious metals miner Randgold Resources slipped 1.65 per cent to 5,070p, after gold output in the second quarter fell two per cent on the first three months of the year. Nevertheless, the company said it is still on track to hit its production guidance for 2014.
Shares in energy group Drax slumped 8.24per cent to 651.50p after UK courts said one of its power-generating units is not eligible for government subsidies.