FTSE 100 Down 0.4% At Noon; Convatec Declines Sharply

(RTTNews) - U.K. stocks are down in negative territory on Thursday, in line with other major markets in Europe, with investors awaiting some key economic data from the U.S. later in the day.

The benchmark FTSE 100 was down 33.77 points or 0.37% at 9,216.66 a few minutes past noon.

Phoenix Group Holdings is down more than 5%. Convatec Group is down 4.7% after the US launched investigations into imports of robotics, industrial machinery, and medical devices.

Ashtead Group is down by about 2.5%, while St. James's Place, Endeavour Mining, ICG, Standard Chartered, Experian and United Utilities are down 1.6 to 2.2%.

HSBC Holdings, Melrose Industries, Schroders, Antofagasta, Prudential, Barclays Group, Rolls-Royce Holdings, Marks & Spencer, Croda International and Centrica are also notably lower.

JD Sports Fashion is rising 2% after launching a £100 million share buyback program. Shares of healty and safety device maker Halma Plc are up 1% after the company raised its full-year revenue growth forecast.

Rio Tinto is gaining 2.7% and Beazley is up 2.5%, while Anglo Amerian Plc, British American Tobacco, 3i Group, Glenore and Pearson are also up with strong gains.

On the economic front, the Distributive Trades Survey from the Confederation of British Industry showed UK retailers expect sales to decline at a steeper pace in October, due to persistent weak demand conitions.

Further, the survey showed that October's sales are set to disappoint as the balance for next month declined to -43%.

CBI Principal Economist Martin Sartorius said, "Weak demand continues to weigh on sales, while US tariffs are adding pressure for some retailers."

"Lacklustre economic conditions are also affecting the wider distribution sector, with wholesalers and motor traders seeing fast sales declines in September," Sartorius added.