LONDON MARKETS: FTSE 100 Pulls Back From Record High As Weir Shares Tumble

By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.K. stocks fell Wednesday, a day after the benchmark FTSE 100 hit an all-time high, with shares of engineering company Weir Group PLC sliding after a profit warning.

The FTSE 100 was down 0.3% at 6,926.86. The move came after Tuesday's rise of 0.5% to 6,949.63, marking the best close since December 1999 (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/what-the-ftse-100-closing-at-its-highest-level-in-15-years-means-2015-02-24). Gains came alongside a rise in the broader European markets (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/european-stocks-waver-as-greek-reforms-go-before-lenders-for-approval-2015-02-24) after Greece moved closer to finalizing an extension of its bailout program.

Sinking to the bottom of the benchmark on Wednesday was Weir, whose shares fell 11%. The shares suffered their worst percentage loss since January 2009, after the maker of equipment for use in the energy industry said it expects lower profit margins and revenue this year (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/weir-warns-on-profit-as-commodity-prices-fall-2015-02-25), as commodity prices have dropped. Full-year profit tumbled to 73.1 million pounds ($113.4 million) from GBP334.9 million, hit by exceptional items.

"While visibility in oil and gas remains limited, it is clear that the group's strategic progress and cost initiatives will only partly offset the impact of a substantial reduction in demand and the associated pricing pressure," Weir Chief Executive Keith Cochrane said in a statement.

The company's "outlook statement reads more negatively then we expected," said Investec Securities analyst Thomas Rands in a note. "Weir is aggressively cutting costs, including taking out 650 U.S. posts in oil & gas, however, this will not be enough to offset the lower demand and price cuts." Jefferies held onto its sell rating on Weir.

GKN PLC was also on the list of decliners, with shares falling 2.6%. On Tuesday, the shares lost 3.2% after the engineering company said full-year sales and pretax profit (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gkn-profit-falls-amid-currency-hit-2015-02-24) fell because of currency movements.

But topping the benchmark was St. James's Place PLC , with shares up 5.2% after the wealth manager raised its final dividend by 50% (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/st-jamess-place-funds-under-management-up-in-2014-2015-02-25-3485830) to 14.37 pence. It also said funds under management in 2014 rose to GBP52 billion pounds, from GBP44.3 billion at the end of 2013.

Stock in Whitbread PLC gained 2.5%, after owner of Costa Coffee and Premier Inn hotels forecast full-year results will come in around the top end of expectations.

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