LONDON MARKETS: FTSE 100 On Track For Third Straight Loss As BHP, Sainsbury's Weigh

By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch

U.K. construction PMI at lowest since 2013

U.K. stocks fell Wednesday, with shares of BHP Billiton PLC and J Sainsbury PLC among those pulling the market's blue-chip benchmark toward its third consecutive decline.

The FTSE 100 lost 0.4% to 6,161.50, with only the industrial and utilities sectors moving higher. The index on Tuesday dropped 0.9% (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ftse-100-drives-toward-lowest-in-nearly-a-month-as-miners-sink-2016-05-03) as commodity shares struggled, and marked its lowest close since April 7.

At the bottom of the index Wednesday were shares of iron ore heavyweight BHP Billiton PLC (BLT.LN) (BHP.AU) (BHP.AU), which fell 5.7%. The move came after Brazilian federal prosecutors filed a civil lawsuit Tuesday over a catastrophic dam failure in November. Prosecutors are seeking up to 155 billion reais ($43.55 billion) (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/mining-firms-bhp-vale-face-44b-lawsuit-in-brazil-2016-05-03) for cleanup and remediation. The dam was run by Samarco Mineração, a joint venture between BHP and Brazilian miner Vale SA (VALE5.BR) (VALE5.BR).

Meanwhile, shares of oil major Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSB.LN) (RDSB.LN) slipped 0.3%. The oil major said quarterly adjusted earnings fell to $1.6 billion (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/shell-profit-falls-but-beats-forecasts-2016-05-04-34851723) from $3.7 billion a year earlier, but that still beat analysts' expectations.

Also in the red were shares of J Sainsbury (SBRY.LN). They fell 4.1% after the grocer cut its dividend payout (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/sainsbury-cuts-dividend-payout-2016-05-04) in a continued effort to manage costs. The U.K.'s second-largest grocer by market share swung to a fiscal year pretax profit of GBP548 million.

Separately, a survey from Kantar showed the top four U.K. grocers lost market share (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/top-four-uk-grocers-lose-market-share-2016-05-04)during the 12 weeks ended April 24 to German discounters Aldi and Lidl. Shares of grocers Tesco PLC (TSCO.LN)(TSCO.LN) and Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC (MRW.LN) fell 2.9% and 4%, respectively.

But topping the FTSE 100 was Next PLC (NXT.LN), picking up 2.5%. The apparel and household retailer cut its full-year forecast and posted a quarterly decline in brand sales. But a more than 4% rise in sales in its directory business helped lift Next's shares, said Hargreaves Lansdown in a note.

The pound fell 0.3% to $1.4498 after data firm Markit said U.K. construction activity slumped to the lowest since 2013 in April, to a reading of 52.0. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected a reading of 54.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 04, 2016 04:44 ET (08:44 GMT)

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