U.K. equity markets closed lower on Thursday as losses concentrated in the Mining, Life Insurance/Assurance and Banking sectors pushed the benchmark index into negative territory.
At the close in London, the United Kingdom 100 declined 0.60%.
The session's top-performing stocks included Schroders PLC (LON:SDR), which climbed 28.56% or 130.50 points to finish at 587.50. DCC plc (LON:DCC) advanced 3.80% or 190.00 points to end at 5,190.00, while Admiral Group PLC (LON:ADML) gained 3.44% or 94.00 points to close at 2,824.00.
On the downside, Rentokil Initial PLC (LON:RTO) fell 6.88% or 32.50 points to trade at 439.80 at the close. Prudential PLC (LON:PRU) dropped 6.80% or 79.00 points to finish at 1,082.50, and Standard Chartered PLC (LON:STAN) lost 4.66% or 84.50 points to end at 1,730.00.
Market breadth on the London Stock Exchange showed more decliners than advancers, with falling stocks outnumbering rising ones by 972 to 783, and 557 shares finishing unchanged.
Schroders PLC (LON:SDR) notably rose to a three-years high in the session, adding 28.56% or 130.50 points to reach 587.50.
Commodities saw downward pressure during the trading day. Gold Futures for April delivery were down 2.40% or 122.30 to $4,976.20 a troy ounce. In energy markets, crude oil for March delivery fell 2.89% or 1.87 to $62.76 a barrel, while the April Brent contract declined 2.78% or 1.93 to trade at $67.47 a barrel.
Currency pairs were broadly steady. GBP/USD was unchanged at 0.00% to 1.36, while EUR/GBP was effectively flat, shifting 0.03% to 0.87. The US Dollar Index Futures moved up 0.14% to 96.86.
Summary of market movers and indicators:
- Index movement - United Kingdom 100 down 0.60% at the close in London.
- Top gainers - Schroders PLC (SDR), DCC plc (DCC) and Admiral Group PLC (ADML).
- Top losers - Rentokil Initial PLC (RTO), Prudential PLC (PRU) and Standard Chartered PLC (STAN).
- Commodities - Gold and crude benchmarks declined, with gold down 2.40% and crude oil contracts down over 2.7%.
- Currency action - Major pairs were largely unchanged; US Dollar Index Futures up 0.14%.
The session presented a mix of sharp individual stock moves and broader sector pressure, with miners, insurers and banks contributing to the downward bias in the market.