Sector movers: Autos stall, property funds under surveillance
The auto sector and financials were the main brakes on the market as the week came to an end, while there were gains for bigger pharma and some larger housebuilders.
In the FTSE 350 automobile & parts sector, the two constituents, Aston Martin Lagonda and TI Fluid Systems were both in the red a day after the disappointing results from Jaguar Land Rover and a warning from Fiat Chrysler about US sales, together with fresh worries about trade relations between the US and China.
Indications from President Trump that he wasn't planning on meeting with Chinese president Xi Jinping before the trade truce deadline on 1 March, prompted new concerns about trade relations, exacerbated by a report that Trump is planning on signing an executive order banning Chinese telecom equipment from US wireless networks.
Life insurers were in the red, led by Prudential, and many equity investment instruments were trading lower amid falls in Asia and on Wall Street and worries about some funds.
Daily updates were being demanded from funds by the Financial Conduct Authority, the Financial Times reported, as investors withdrew £315m from property funds in December.
After the EU referendum in 2016, a number of funds, including Standard Life, Aviva, M&G, Henderson and Columbia Threadneedle were forced to suspend redemptions from their commercial property funds, cannot quickly sell properties to help fund these withdrawals.
A risk-off mood in many markets was also an influence, with a third consecutive day of losses for the S&P 500 that would be the first such run since the Christmas sell-off, observed market analyst Chris Beauchamp at IG. "After a surge off the lows of December, it is arguably the case that indices have been at risk of a pullback, even if they look primed for more gains over the longer term. Even the losses of the past three days barely put a dent in the current rally, but it is still surprising how a simple ‘no’ from the world’s most powerful leader has prompted a sudden drop in risk appetite.
"Worryingly, with Chinese markets set to return from their bank holiday, we could see the new week begin in bearish fashion, adding to the gloom surrounding equities."
The construction & materials sector was down amid a dividend cut from global construction giant Skanska, which Jasper Lawler at London Capital Group saw as another sign of a weaker global environment.
A mixed pharmaceuticals sector popped up, mainly due to rises from heavyweights AstraZeneca and GSK, after the sector had been under-performing its short- and medium-term average. Earlier this week the sector climbed above its 200-day moving average, having been below this indicator since the first week of the year amid talk of a potentially growing US political consensus about drug price controls.
Housebuilders were on the up, led by Barratt and Berkeley, as the National Audit Office put out a report saying that targets for new homes are likely to be missed by half of England’s local authorities. Barratt was also boosted by a report from Citi that said the stock still offers "multiple attractions of profitable growth".
Other sector players were only slightly higher, with Galliford Try and Crest Nicholson in the red.
Top performing sectors so far today
Pharmaceuticals & Biotechnology +1.22%
Household Goods & Home Construction +0.77%
Beverages +0.68%
Leisure Goods +0.67%
Technology Hardware & Equipment +0.54%
Bottom performing sectors so far today
Automobiles & Parts -4.79%
Life Insurance -1.66%
Industrial Engineering -1.56%
Construction & Materials -1.49%
Tobacco -1.46%
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,075.24 -0.26%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 18,684.64 -0.61%
techMARK (TASX) 3,443.35 0.15%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Ocado Group (OCDO) 910.60p 4.21%
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,570.60p 1.56%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 560.40p 1.34%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,868.00p 1.22%
Sage Group (SGE) 642.00p 1.17%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 5,709.00p 1.01%
Auto Trader Group (AUTO) 452.70p 0.96%
RSA Insurance Group (RSA) 530.00p 0.95%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 3,792.00p 0.90%
Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 5,913.00p 0.89%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Melrose Industries (MRO) 156.15p -5.33%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 914.80p -4.17%
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,637.00p -3.99%
Standard Life Aberdeen (SLA) 244.10p -2.71%
Prudential (PRU) 1,482.00p -2.40%
Centrica (CNA) 135.95p -2.23%
St James's Place (STJ) 923.80p -1.99%
Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 2,946.00p -1.80%
Carnival (CCL) 4,245.00p -1.78%
Schroders (SDR) 2,603.00p -1.74%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Bakkavor Group (BAKK) 142.60p 1.86%
NewRiver REIT (NRR) 217.97p 1.62%
Inmarsat (ISAT) 372.50p 1.55%
Renishaw (RSW) 4,386.00p 1.53%
Elementis (ELM) 187.40p 1.52%
Riverstone Energy Limited (RSE) 1,044.00p 1.36%
Tate & Lyle (TATE) 694.13p 1.33%
Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 400.20p 1.32%
Vietnam Enterprise Investments (DI) (VEIL) 456.00p 1.11%
Bank of Georgia Group (BGEO) 1,596.20p 1.03%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 1,131.40p -4.92%
Jupiter European Opportunities Trust (JEO) 672.00p -3.72%
TI Fluid Systems (TIFS) 173.80p -3.44%
Weir Group (WEIR) 1,446.00p -3.31%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 202.10p -3.21%
Fisher (James) & Sons (FSJ) 1,817.98p -3.20%
Vivo Energy (VVO) 129.00p -3.15%
Premier Oil (PMO) 67.89p -3.01%
TalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) 96.75p -2.96%
Superdry (SDRY) 497.80p -2.87%