UK stocks declined for a third day, their longest streak of losses in a month, as oil companies led the benchmark FTSE 100 Index lower.
Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s Class B shares, which have a UK source for tax purposes, slid 1.6%. BP Plc retreated 1%. Wm Morrison Supermarkets Plc gained 2.9% as Citigroup Inc. recommended buying the stock. Quindell Plc gained 5.6% after saying a court ruled in its favour in libel proceedings against short seller Gotham City Research LLC.
The FTSE 100 Index fell 11.11 points, or 0.2%, to 6,823.66 at 10.53am London, after earlier gaining as much as 0.2%. The broader FTSE All-Share Index and Ireland’s ISEQ Index also lost 0.2 percent each.
An index measuring FTSE 100 volatility expectations rose 1 percent, extending a 22 percent jump yesterday that was its largest since March.
Financial companies led UK stocks lower yesterday after a poll showed for the first time that a majority of voters favor independence for Scotland. The FTSE 100 completed a four-week rally last week that brought it near a 14-year high. The equity gauge closed at 6,877.97 on Sept. 4, the highest level since May and within 1% of its record reached in December 1999.
Shell’s Class B shares fell 1.6% to 2,499 pence, the largest drop in almost three weeks, while BP retreated 1% to 463.85 pence. Brent crude for October settlement dropped 21 cents to $99.99 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange, for its fourth day of losses.
Morrison gained 2.9% to 174.9 pence. Citigroup raised its rating on the grocer to buy from neutral, with analyst Pradeep Pratti saying Morrison’s market share has held up well following price cuts.
Quindell rose 5.6 percent to 174.25 pence. A U.K. court judged in the company’s favor after Gotham didn’t appear in the London court to respond to the lawsuit, Quindell said. Quindell filed libel proceedings in April after Gotham published a report accusing Quindell of misreporting financial results, sending the shares down 39 percent in one day.