FTSE 100 Dips As Miners Fall On Chinese Demand Concerns
(RTTNews) - U.K. stocks declined on Friday as lower commodity prices due to the lack of Chinese stimulus measures dragged resource stocks.
Meanwhile, despite an improvement in consumer sentiment, U.K. retail sales logged a notable decline in June amid election uncertainty and poor weather, data showed.
Retail sales decreased 1.2 percent month-on-month in June, in contrast to the 2.9 percent increase posted in May, the Office for National Statistics said. Sales were expected to log a moderate 0.4 percent fall.
The large fall in retail sales in June reversed the jump in May and suggests that rising real incomes and improving sentiment have so far failed to translate into a significant increase in spending on goods, Capital Economics' economist Andrew Wishart said.
Separately, a monthly survey from GfK showed that British consumer sentiment improved in July.
The consumer confidence index rose to -13 in July from -14 in June. The reading was seen at -12.
The benchmark FTSE 100 was down 36 points, or 0.4 percent, at 8,168 after closing up 0.2 percent on Thursday.
Miners Anglo American, Antofagasta and Glencore all fell around 2 percent on Chinese demand concerns.
Energy giant BP Plc was little changed while Shell dipped half a percent.
Warehouse giant SEGRO fell about 1 percent after selling a portfolio of four logistics warehouses in Italy for a total of €327 mln.
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