LONDON MARKETS: FTSE 100 Ends Lower As Experian Shares Fall

By Carla Mozee and Victor Reklaitis, MarketWatch

London equity benchmark falls even after inflation seen stalling

U.K. blue-chip stocks closed with modest losses Tuesday, led lower by Experian PLC's earnings-driven drop, but the losses were limited as the pound pulled back on data showing British inflation unexpectedly eased.

The FTSE 100 index finished down by 0.2% at 7,390.22, following a choppy session and a 0.4% gain on Monday (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ftse-100-rises-as-miners-itv-advance-2017-07-17).

Shares in credit-checking company Experian (EXPN.LN) gave up 2.1% for the benchmark's biggest decline. The company's first-quarter results fell short of expectations, said a Dow Jones Newswires report citing Shore Capital Markets, which said it had hoped for better performance, particularly in North America.

The FTSE 100 had briefly flipped higher as the pound was drawn to an intraday low of $1.3016 after the Office for National Statistics said U.K. consumer-price inflation rose 2.6% in June (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/uk-inflation-slows-unexpectedly-in-june-2017-07-18). That was lower than a 2.8% rate expected in a FactSet poll of analysts. Inflation in May hit 2.9%, a four-year high.

A weaker pound can help the many large multinational companies on the London index that generate earnings overseas.

The inflation reading "spells a momentary setback for the pound, as softer inflation reduces expectations of an early rise in U.K. interest rates," wrote Mihir Kapadia, CEO of Sun Global Investments.

Sterling had hit an intraday high above $1.31 as the U.S. dollar fell to lows not seen since September. That was spurred after Republican leaders in the U.S. Senate late Monday ditched their bill to repeal and simultaneously replace (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/health-care-overhaul-seems-sunk-as-two-more-republicans-oppose-senate-bill-2017-07-17) much of the Affordable Care Act, or "Obamacare," after it became clear it wouldn't have enough votes to pass.

The pound recently traded at $1.3025, down from $1.3054 late Monday in New York.

First Take:Could GOP health-care bill's implosion actually lead to a bipartisan solution? (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/could-gop-health-care-bills-implosion-lead-to-bipartisan-solution-2017-07-17)

"This implies that [U.S. President Donald] Trump's tax reform agenda may be now more difficult to implement and may take longer to arrive, as the cuts in health care were expected to finance some of the promised fiscal measures," said Charalambos Pissouros, senior analyst at IronFX, in a note.

U.K. equities were driven higher after Trump's election in November, on the prospect that lower corporate taxes, higher fiscal spending and a pickup in inflation in the world's largest economy would benefit banks, construction companies and others.

Miners drop: Shares of mining companies were among the day's notable losers. Rio Tinto PLC (RIO) (RIO) (RIO) was down 0.7%, as it lowered its export guidance for iron ore (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/rio-tinto-reduces-iron-ore-export-forecast-2017-07-17). BHP Billiton PLC (BLT.LN) (BHP.AU) (BHP.AU) fell 0.8%.

But precious metals miners Fresnillo PLC (FRES.LN) and Randgold Resources PLC (RRS.LN) picked up 0.9% and 0.7%, respectively.

Other movers: Royal Mail PLC (RMG.LN) jumped 3.1% after the company reported a 1% rise in first-quarter revenue (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/royal-mail-revenue-rises-on-european-strength-2017-07-18) as a strong performance at its Europe-wide parcel delivery business offset weakness in the U.K.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 18, 2017 12:23 ET (16:23 GMT)

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