By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch

U.K. retail sales decline in September on a monthly basis

U.K. stocks lost ground Thursday, staying in the red after a report on British retail sales fell short of expectations, while shares of consumer products heavyweight Unilever PLC slumped after its earnings report.

The FTSE 100 index lost 0.4% to 7,512.69, led by a drop in consumer goods and services shares, as well as in basic materials stocks. The index dipped to an intraday low alongside a fall in U.S. stock futures (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stock-futures-tumble-with-ebay-apple-other-tech-stocks-taking-a-hit-in-premarket-2017-10-19) and after Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dropped nearly 2%.

The London benchmark on Wednesday rose 0.4% (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ftse-100-rises-as-eyes-turn-to-wages-data-2017-10-18) to 7,542.87, just shy of its record close of 7,556.24 logged last week.

Hurricanes blamed: Unilever (ULVR.LN) was among Thursday's decliners. Shares fell 4.1% after the company behind brands including Ben & Jerry's and Dove reported weaker revenue growth of 2.6% in the third quarter. Analysts had been looking for growth of 3.9%.

Sales growth was hurt by poor weather in Europe and natural disasters in the Americas, the consumer products company said.

"There's really no growth in the U.S. business," Unilever Chief Financial Officer Graeme Pitkethly said in an interview (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/unilever-sales-disappoint-on-us-hurricane-impact-2017-10-19). "But the big one-off impact that caused us to miss against consensus this quarter were the hurricanes in Florida and Texas."

U.K. shoppers: Retail sales came in weaker than anticipated. Sales fell 0.8% in September from the previous month, and rose by 1.2%, missing a forecast of 2.3% growth in a FactSet poll of economists.

The pound fell to $1.3152 after the report, down from $1.3205 late Wednesday in New York. This week was packed with economic data, with reports showing real wages fell for the sixth time in a row in August and that consumer price inflation hit 3%, a percentage point above the Bank of England's target.

The data will be considered by Bank of England policy makers, who are slated to say on Nov. 2 if they've raised or left intact the benchmark interest rate that stands at a record low 0.25%.

Stock movers: London Stock Exchange Group PLC (LSE.LN) shares fell 0.6% after the company said Chief Executive Xavier Rolet plans to step down by the end of December 2018. (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/lse-revenue-up-18-ceo-xavier-rolet-to-leave-2017-10-19)

Travis Perkins PLC shares (TPK.LN) picked up 1.9%. The building materials supplier said third-quarter comparable sales rose (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/travis-perkins-sales-up-business-on-track-2017-10-19) and that it expects to meet its full-year expectations.

Off the main benchmark, IWG PLC (IWG.LN) plunged 33% after the workspace provider said an anticipated improvement in third-quarter sales has been weaker than expected.

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 19, 2017 06:55 ET (10:55 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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