LONDON MARKETS: FTSE 100 Set For Worst Week Since January As Investors Eye U.S. Health-care Bill

By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch

Smiths Group rallies after earnings

U.K. stocks were stuck in a holding pattern in Friday trade, with investors staying cautious ahead of a closely watched vote the U.S. health-care bill later in the day.

The FTSE 100 index was slightly lower at 7,338.41, extending its weekly loss to 1.2%. That would mark the biggest drop for the week since late January.

The wobbly open came after last night's U.S. congressional vote on a repeal of Obama's Affordable Care Act was delayed by 24 hours, sending U.S. markets lower.

Read:Trump's ultimatum -- Pass health bill now or live with Obamacare (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/trump-ultimatum-pass-health-bill-now-or-live-with-obamacare-2017-03-23)

"This adds to concerns that Trump lacks enough house support (even among Republicans) and that he may struggle to get approval for all the stimulus policies he pledged," said analysts at Accendo Markets, in a note.

"Markets aren't panicking. This is thanks to suggestions that a favorable vote isn't a prerequisite for work to begin on other measures like tax cuts and infrastructure spending. However, it would mean Republicans, who have hated ACA since its 2010 birth, have to accept it will stay. An ultimatum, if you like, setting markets up for a dollop of weekend risk," they added.

See:Here's what the health-care vote means for financial markets (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/what-traders-are-watching-as-health-care-vote-looms-2017-03-23)

Hopes that President Donald Trump will push through tax cuts and massive infrastructure spending have send stock markets globally to record highs in recent months. However, this week that so-called Trump trade has dwindled as investors started to question if the new administration can follow through on its pro-business reforms.

Stock movers: Shares of Smiths Group PLC (SMIN.LN) jumped 4.4% after the engineering company said its pretax profit more than doubled in the first half (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/smiths-group-profit-more-than-doubles-dividend-up-2017-03-24) thanks to some robust sales and profit from a disposal.

Kingfisher PLC (KGF.LN) lost 1.3%, setting it on track for a 7.8% weekly slump, after the do-it-yourself retailer provided a cautious outlook earlier this week. That would be its biggest weekly loss since December 2015, according to FactSet data.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 24, 2017 05:24 ET (09:24 GMT)

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