LONDON MARKETS: FTSE 100 Falls As Downgrades Hit Housing Shares, Tesco

By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.K. stocks fell Friday, with housing shares hit after a broker downgrade of the sector.

The FTSE 100 fell 0.3% to 9,809.31. The London benchmark was on track for a weekly rise of 0.1%.

Housing shares were the worst performers after Jefferies said it no longer recommends investors buy U.K. residential-linked shares under its coverage. Home builder Taylor Wimpey fell 4.3%, Barratt Developments PLC lost 4% and Persimmon PLC moved 3.3% lower.

"Negative" newsflow on mortgage approvals, housing transactions, weak house-price data and lower U.K. economic growth will put pressure on the sector during the first quarter, said Jefferies analysts Anthony Codling and Sam Cullen in a note Friday. Share-price weakness will persist in the second quarter, stemming from uncertainty around the U.K. general election set for May, they said.

Meanwhile, shares of Tesco PLC fell 1.2% after Moody's Investors Service cut its ratings on the supermarket chain to junk status. Structural changes in the U.K. grocery retail market "will continue to challenge the company's operating performance even with the benefits of the significant restructuring actions," undertaken by Tesco, Moody's said in a statement.

Tesco shares on Thursday rallied 15% as the company laid out plans for a turnaround.

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