London midday: Stocks slide on slump in oil prices

London stocks were in the red at midday on Tuesday as oil prices extended losses from the previous session.

Crude prices declined as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said that global demand for its crude would be less than previously thought in 2016.

At 1139 GMT Brent crude was down 2.5% to $38.55 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate had declined 2.5% to $36.25 per barrel.

Earlier, the Bank of Japan left its monetary policy unchanged despite worsening conditions in the world’s third largest economy. The central bank also downgraded its view of the economy and inflation expectations.

“Although it was broadly expected that the central bank remains on standby following the souring mood from the negative interest rate cut on 29 February, the ongoing global woes which have exposed Japan to downside risk have left the central bank under immense pressure to take action,” said FXTM research analyst Lukman Otunuga.

Investors are now awaiting the Federal Reserve’s policy decision on Wednesday. The central bank is expected to stand pat on interest rates amid worries about a global economic slowdown.

The Bank of England is also widely expected to keep policy unchanged when it announces its latest measures on Thursday.

In the Eurozone, Eurostat revealed euro-area employment rose 0.3% in the fourth quarter compared to the previous three months. Compared to the same quarter a year ago, employment increased 1.2% in the euro-area.

Still to come, US retail sales data will be released at 1230 GMT.

In company news, shares in Antofagasta slid after the miner revealed earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation plunged 58% to $890.7m due mainly to lower copper prices. The company also cancelled its final dividend.

Royal Bank of Scotland rallied after Goldman Sachs upped the stock to ‘buy’ from ‘neutral’ and added it to its Conviction List.

Legal & General declined after reporting a capital position below some analysts’ expectations in its full year results.

Evraz slumped as the steelmaker saw earnings fall by more than a third in its 2015 results.

Automotive distributor and retailer Inchcape gained as it posted a small rise in full year pre-tax profit as revenue edged higher amid strong UK sales.

Online grocery delivery firm Ocado advanced as it said group gross sales rose 15.3% to £312.4m in the quarter to 21 February.

Wood Group dropped after Canaccord Genuity cut its stance on the stock to ‘sell’ from ‘hold’, saying the stock was overvalued following the recent outperformance.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 6,133.37 -0.67%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 16,651.24 -0.25%
techMARK (TASX) 3,089.48 -0.20%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 234.70p 1.51%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 824.50p 1.17%
Mondi (MNDI) 1,356.00p 0.82%
Standard Life (SL.) 364.70p 0.72%
Relx plc (REL) 1,264.00p 0.72%
Worldpay Group (WI) (WPG) 289.70p 0.70%
Unilever (ULVR) 3,130.50p 0.64%
ITV (ITV) 240.00p 0.33%
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,414.50p 0.32%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 4,114.00p 0.32%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Antofagasta (ANTO) 481.20p -10.47%
Anglo American (AAL) 508.00p -7.04%
Legal & General Group (LGEN) 228.10p -6.36%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 768.30p -5.87%
Glencore (GLEN) 141.80p -4.12%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 1,919.00p -4.12%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,355.00p -3.08%
easyJet (EZJ) 1,503.00p -2.66%
Centrica (CNA) 223.10p -1.93%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 2,795.00p -1.93%

FTSE 250 - Risers

OneSavings Bank (OSB) 257.10p 4.55%
Hastings Group Holdings (HSTG) 168.60p 4.40%
Moneysupermarket.com Group (MONY) 341.30p 4.25%
IP Group (IPO) 179.40p 3.10%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 269.00p 2.83%
Supergroup (SGP) 1,411.00p 2.62%
Polypipe Group (PLP) 332.00p 2.34%
Inchcape (INCH) 726.00p 2.25%
Poundland Group (PLND) 164.20p 2.05%
Shawbrook Group (SHAW) 290.00p 2.00%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Tullow Oil (TLW) 197.00p -8.84%
Vedanta Resources (VED) 309.00p -5.94%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 621.50p -4.53%
Mediclinic International (MDC) 872.00p -4.12%
Ophir Energy (OPHR) 82.20p -4.08%
Allied Minds (ALM) 362.00p -3.39%
Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 901.50p -3.27%
Cairn Energy (CNE) 190.50p -3.20%
Evraz (EVR) 89.75p -3.08%
Marshalls (MSLH) 324.70p -2.90%