LONDON MARKETS: FTSE 100 Slides, But Hangs Onto Monthly Gains

By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch

Shire surges; IAG dampens growth plans

U.K. stocks dropped Friday, driving toward a weekly loss, with shares of British Airways's parent under pressure and investors still assessing the impact of central bank inaction.

The FTSE 100 fell 0.9% to 6,267.96, with only the basic materials sector moving higher. Among the index's few advancers, Shire PLC (SHPG) (SHPG) shot up 4% as the drugmaker's quarterly revenue and earnings exceeded expectations (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/shire-earnings-and-revenue-climb-in-first-quarter-2016-04-29).

The blue-chips index on Thursday ended with a minor gain after being rattled by an unexpected decision by the Bank of Japan not to launch new stimulus (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/bank-of-japan-makes-you-feel-sorry-for-impotent-central-bankers-2016-04-28).

The FTSE 100 was looking at a weekly decline of 0.7%, but remained on track for a 1.4% rise for April.

"It's as good as certain that the FTSE 100 will post its third successive monthly gain tonight, but if there's to be any hope of sustaining this trend, then the markets will be looking for central bankers to maintain that accommodative stance," said Trustnet Direct market analyst Tony Cross in a note.

Movers: Weighing on the benchmark was International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (IAG.LN). Shares lost 5.4%, with their worst session since mid-February coming after the parent of British Airways cut its growth plans (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/iag-cuts-growth-plans-after-brussels-attacks-2016-04-29) in the wake of the Brussels terror attacks in March.

"We believe the scope for positive revisions to fiscal year guidance has been reduced. Given the apparent downside risk from premium traffic softness and a more protracted recovery from the Brussels attacks than expected, we would not be surprised to see consensus slip," said Liberum analyst Gerald Khoo in a Friday note.

Royal Bank of Scotland's (RBS.LN) first-quarter net loss nearly doubled to GBP968 million ($1.41 million) (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/rbs-loss-nearly-doubles-on-12-billion-payment-2016-04-29) on restructuring charges and a one-off GBP1.2 billion payment to the U.K. government. Shares were down 4.2%.

Also among the few advancers, shares of telecom giant BT Group PLC (BT.A.LN) gained 1.5%.

AstraZeneca PLC (AZN.LN) picked up 0.7%. The drugmaker, which posted a drop in quarterly profit (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/astrazeneca-investment-eats-into-profit-2016-04-29-54855248), said cost-cutting should result in $1.1 billion in net savings.

But mining shares gained as dollar-denominated metals prices found support from a fall in the greenback . Randgold Resources PLC (RRS.LN) was up 2.2% as gold prices pushed toward a 15-month high (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gold-heads-for-15-month-high-as-dollar-gets-crushed-2016-04-29).

Platinum producer Anglo American PLC (AAL.LN) jumped 3%, and Glencore PLC (GLEN.LN) rose 4.5%.

Berkeley Holdings Group PLC (BKG.LN) was down 3.9%, adding to Thursday's loss that followed ratings downgrade by Credit Suisse.

See:Credit Suisse turns bearish on London housing market (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/brexit-fears-turn-credit-suisse-bearish-on-london-housing-market-2016-04-28)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 29, 2016 09:49 ET (13:49 GMT)

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