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London open: Stocks decline as oil prices reverse gains
London stocks declined on Wednesday as oil prices reversed gains in the previous session.
Brent crude fell 1.9% to $37.06 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate dropped 2.5% to $36.93 per barrel at 0854 GMT.
A slump in metal prices also dragged mining stocks lower including BHP Billiton, Glencore and Rio Tinto.
Providing a drag on markets elsewhere, International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde warned global growth next year would be “disappointing”.
“In many countries the financial sector still has weaknesses and in emerging markets the financial risks are increasing. All of that means global growth will be disappointing and uneven in 2016,” Lagarde said in a guest article for German newspaper Handelsblatt published on Wednesday.
In the UK, a report from Nationwide showed house prices climbed 0.8% month in December compared to November, which was the largest month-on-month increase since April.
Nationwide said this lifted the annual pace of house price growth to 4.5%, a high-month high, from 3.7% in November.
In afternoon trade, data on US weekly mortgage applications and US pending home sales are due at 1200 GMT and 1500 GMT respectively.
Company-wise, Rolls Royce was in the red after members of the UK parliament were reportedly set to meet the group’s boss Warren East to discuss his restructuring plans for the aerospace and defence group following its five profit warnings.
Crimson Tide gained after saying that it has called a general meeting as it looks to get shareholder approval for a capital reconstruction.
