Shares in the United Kingdom marked the most considerable daily loss since early July on Friday, as a number of commodity-producing companies dropped, following a downbeat manufacturing data released out of China. The FTSE 100 Index fell 0.76%, or 50.93 points, to close at 6,679.18 in London. This has been the largest daily loss since July 8th. On a weekly basis, the UK benchmark dropped 1.66%, following two weeks of gains. The wider gauge, FTSE All-Share Index, lost 0.7%.
The index of manufacturing activity in China, released by HSBC Holdings Plc., rose at a slower than anticipated pace in July to reach a reading of 51.7. Preliminary estimates pointed to an advance to 52.0.
The gauge of manufacturing activity in the United Kingdom for July plunged to its lowest level this year, after a drop in new orders and output ended the first half’s “stellar growth spurt”, according to Markit Economics. The manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index fell to a reading of 55.4 last month from a revised down 57.2 in June, the official report by the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS) in cooperation with Markit revealed on Friday. Experts had projected a slowdown to 57.2 in July from a previously reported 57.5 in June. The gauge of new orders dropped to 57.8 in July from 60.6 in June.
Shares of United Utilities Group PLC (UU/:LN) fell the most within the FTSE 100 Index, losing 3.82%, or 34.000 GBp, to close at 856.000 GBp.
Severn Trent PLC (SVT:LN) lost 3.00%, or 58.000 GBp, to close at 1,877.000 GBp on Friday, which followed another 0.46% loss on Thursday.
Schroders PLC (SDR:LN), the largest publicly traded money manager in the United Kingdom, dropped 2.55%, or 61.000 GBp, to close at 2,329.000 GBp. On Thursday the stock lost another 4.36% on a daily basis. Schroders announced that its assets under management expanded 15% during the first half of the year, which came below forecasts of some experts.
Shares of the largest mining company in the world, BHP Billiton, declined 0.86%, or 17.50 pence, to close at 2,011.50 pence on Friday, marking a three-day loss of 4.08%. On a weekly basis, the stock plunged 3.38%, or the most considerable weekly loss since the week ended on May 30th.
Rio Tinto Group lost 1.11%, or 37.50 GBp, to close at 3,354.50 GBp, while shares of Glencore Xstrata Plc fell 1.08%, or 3.90 GBp, to close at 365.15 GBp.
Smith & Nephew PLC (SN/:LN) marked the largest daily gain within the FTSE 100, rising 3.80%, or 39.000 pence, to close at 1,065.000 pence. It announced a second-quarter revenue of 1.15 billion USD, which outpaced experts’ forecast for a revenue of 1.13 billion USD.
BG Group PLC (BG/:LN) gained 3.11%, or 36.500 GBp, to close at 1,208.500 GBp, while Royal Mail PLC (RMG:LN) added 10.700 pence, or 2.56%, to close at 428.100 pence, which made them respectively the second and third largest gainer within the FTSE.
Shares of International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (IAG:LN) rose 2.24%, or 7.400 pence, to close at 338.200 pence on Friday. The parent of British Airways announced a profit of 380 million EUR in Q2, exceeding projections pointing to a profit of 364 million EUR.
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