London close: Stocks drop ahead of ECB meeting

London stocks slid on Monday despite a rally in oil prices as investors played it cautious ahead of the European Central Bank’s policy decision.

The ECB is facing pressure to do more to boost the economy before its policy meeting on Thursday amid prolonged low inflation, losses at European banks and risks stemming from a slowdown in emerging markets. Economists expect the ECB will cut the deposit facility rate by 13 basis points, announce a six-month extension to the quantitative easing programme and a €10bn (£7.72bn) increase in the pace of monthly asset purchases.

“There is a chance this kind of jittery trading will continue until Mario Draghi puts the market out of its misery and reveals, for better or for worse, what ‘whatever it takes’ actually means this time around,” said Connor Campbell, financial analyst at Spreadex.

Adding to nerves before the ECB meeting, the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) said markets were losing faith in the “healing powers” of central banks to support the global economy.

Head of the BIS monetary and economics department, Claudio Borio, said in the Swiss-based bank’s latest quarterly report that central banks are running out of tools to tackle sluggish growth as interest rates are taken negative. Bario added that mounting debt, particularly in emerging markets, pointed to a "gathering storm".

According to Sentix’s forward-looking survey, Eurozone investor confidence is expected to fall in March amid concerns about the global economy. The index measuring Eurozone investor confidence fell to 5.5 in March from 6.0 a month earlier. Analysts had forecast a reading of 8.3.

Another report from Destatis showed German factory orders fell 0.1% in January from a month ago, although better than the 0.3% decline that was forecast by analysts.

Meanwhile, a surge in oil prices failed to lift equities. Brent crude reached $40.15 per barrel at 1643 GMT, up 3.5% on the day and trading at its highest level since early December. West Texas Intermediate jumped 3.5% to $37.26 per barrel.

In company news, shares in Randgold Resources slid after Morgan Stanley cut its rating on the stock to ‘equalweight’ from ‘overweight’. The bank noted Randgold’s shares are up 53% year-to-date and said it was time to take profits.

Standard Chartered was under the cosh after Moody’s downgraded its rating on the emerging markets-focused bank’s long-term debt by one notch to Aa2. It pointed to expectations the lender’s profitability would remain weak over the next two years and the challenging environment in some of the markets in which it operates.

Old Mutual jumped amid reports that it was planning a £9bn split into numerous standalone companies, which could lead to a takeover battle for some of its biggest operations. The company responded to reports by saying that “all options for the strategic review are being considered, but no decision has yet been made”.

WPP advanced after buying a majority stake in the holding company of digital agency Potato through its digital services agency, AKQA.

Still to come, the US sees Federal Reserve policymakers Lael Brainard and Stanley Fischer speak at separate events after the closing bell.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 6,178.13 -0.34%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 16,811.51 -0.71%
techMARK (TASX) 3,111.96 -0.81%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Antofagasta (ANTO) 592.50p 7.63%
Old Mutual (OML) 192.60p 7.18%
Glencore (GLEN) 170.75p 6.72%
Anglo American (AAL) 628.10p 6.10%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 2,237.00p 5.02%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 897.80p 3.46%
St James's Place (STJ) 888.00p 3.38%
ITV (ITV) 233.90p 1.39%
Standard Life (SL.) 356.70p 1.36%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 270.50p 1.24%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 6,415.00p -3.02%
Worldpay Group (WI) (WPG) 291.90p -2.73%
RSA Insurance Group (RSA) 438.20p -2.34%
Whitbread (WTB) 3,722.00p -2.13%
Provident Financial (PFG) 3,198.00p -1.90%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 2,684.00p -1.86%
Land Securities Group (LAND) 1,041.00p -1.79%
Merlin Entertainments (MERL) 448.00p -1.78%
3i Group (III) 437.20p -1.77%
Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 6,423.00p -1.77%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Evraz (EVR) 97.15p 11.54%
Polymetal International (POLY) 728.50p 3.85%
Vedanta Resources (VED) 381.20p 3.42%
Poundland Group (PLND) 173.70p 3.39%
Hastings Group Holdings (HSTG) 164.60p 3.07%
Indivior (INDV) 163.90p 3.02%
Aggreko (AGK) 1,041.00p 2.97%
CLS Holdings (CLI) 1,561.00p 2.90%
OneSavings Bank (OSB) 290.80p 2.76%
Just Retirement Group (JRG) 140.00p 2.49%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Just Eat (JE.) 383.30p -9.62%
Mitie Group (MTO) 272.30p -7.41%
Genus (GNS) 1,447.00p -4.68%
Dunelm Group (DNLM) 953.00p -4.41%
Howden Joinery Group (HWDN) 460.30p -3.78%
DFS Furniture (DFS) 311.90p -3.50%
Berendsen (BRSN) 1,139.00p -3.23%
Debenhams (DEB) 76.25p -2.99%
Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) 407.20p -2.86%
Euromoney Institutional Investor (ERM) 908.00p -2.84%