London close: Stocks hit by concerns about global growth

(Sharecast News) - London stocks finished in the red on Thursday dragged lower by losses in Standard Chartered following its third-quarter results, amid weakness on Wall Street. The FTSE 100 was down 0.81% at 7,354.57.

"It is US markets that appear to be driving the negativity this week with the S&P500 and Nasdaq 100, both taking out key support levels as more and more questions get asked about relative valuations in big tech against the backdrop of a slowing global economy," said Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK.

On home shores, the latest survey from the Confederation of British Industry showed that retail sales volumes tumbled in October, as higher interest rates and cost of living pressures continued to weigh heavily.

It was also the worst October reading since 2017, which at the time was the lowest since records began in 1983.

StanChart plummets

In equity markets, Standard Chartered tumbled after it posted a drop in third-quarter pre-tax profit, as it took a hit from its exposure to the Chinese property and banking sectors.

In the three months to the end of September, pre-tax profit fell to $633m from $1.4bn a year earlier (consensus: $1.44bn).

The bank said credit impairment charges in the quarter were $294m, up $62m on the same period a year earlier, and $186m of which related to the Chinese commercial real estate sector.

In addition, StanChart said it reduced the carrying value of its investment in China Bohai Bank by $697m. This reflected subdued earnings and a challenging macroeconomic outlook, it said.

"The currently parlous state of developments in China are an inevitable concern, although Standard is adequately capitalised to withstand such challenges," said Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor.

WPP slipped after it cut its full-year guidance as technology clients continued to curtail spending. The advertising firm, the world's largest, reported a 5% fall in third-quarter net revenues, to £2.84m. On an underlying basis, revenues fell 0.6%.

The blue chip also more than halved its forecast for annual net revenue to between 0.5% and 1%, from previous guidance for between 1.5% and 3%.

Sophie Lund-Yates, lead equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "Usually high-spending technology clients in North America have applied the brakes amid an uncertain economic backdrop.

"China's also dragging performance down as the macro environment doesn't lend itself to loose corporate spending. This has culminated in another reduction in full year expectations. While seeing growth go into reverse isn't ideal, it's not wholly unexpected given that advertising activity is a clear-cut barometer of the economy."

Unilever was also weaker as the consumer goods giant laid out plans to boost growth and posted a dip in third-quarter revenues.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,354.57 -0.81% FTSE 250 (MCX) 16,783.09 -0.52% techMARK (TASX) 3,963.12 -1.25%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Ocado Group (OCDO) 487.10p 5.89% Croda International (CRDA) 4,217.00p 1.84% International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 142.85p 1.78% M&G (MNG) 195.70p 1.77% Compass Group (CPG) 2,075.00p 1.42% Severn Trent (SVT) 2,606.00p 1.28% Vodafone Group (VOD) 74.81p 1.23% Smith (DS) (SMDS) 272.20p 1.15% National Grid (NG.) 987.60p 1.15% Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 4,001.00p 1.11%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Standard Chartered (STAN) 625.20p -12.44% Rentokil Initial (RTO) 406.40p -10.60% B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI) (BME) 526.00p -4.99% Endeavour Mining (EDV) 1,659.00p -3.79% Intertek Group (ITRK) 3,871.00p -2.96% Unilever (ULVR) 3,900.00p -2.83% Flutter Entertainment (CDI) (FLTR) 12,560.00p -2.75% Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 1,912.50p -2.57% Airtel Africa (AAF) 110.20p -2.48% Haleon (HLN) 326.85p -2.30%

FTSE 250 - Risers

NextEnergy Solar Fund Limited Red (NESF) 82.90p 4.94% CAB Payments Holdings (CABP) 51.57p 4.00% Inchcape (INCH) 670.50p 3.95% W.A.G Payment Solutions (WPS) 95.00p 3.26% Supermarket Income Reit (SUPR) 72.50p 3.13% Ferrexpo (FXPO) 77.90p 2.97% Greencoat UK Wind (UKW) 133.80p 2.69% Close Brothers Group (CBG) 750.50p 2.25% The Renewables Infrastructure Group Limited (TRIG) 101.60p 2.21% Darktrace (DARK) 347.30p 2.00%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

VinaCapital Vietnam Opportunity Fund Ltd. (VOF) 427.00p -5.22% Genus (GNS) 2,068.00p -5.14% IP Group (IPO) 43.70p -5.00% PureTech Health (PRTC) 155.40p -4.78% Digital 9 Infrastructure NPV (DGI9) 36.50p -4.07% Vietnam Enterprise Investments (DI) (VEIL) 521.00p -4.05% PZ Cussons (PZC) 125.60p -3.98% Helios Towers (HTWS) 59.00p -3.91% Hammerson (HMSO) 20.90p -3.86% Me Group International (MEGP) 138.00p -3.63%