London open: Stocks fall as investors digest BoE's 'Super Thursday'

UK stocks fell on Friday as investors continued to digest the Bank of England’s ‘Super Thursday’.

The BoE slashed its economic growth forecasts to 2% for 2016 from a previous estimate of 2.2% in its Quarterly Inflation Report on Thursday.

The central bank also warned there were increasing signs that uncertainty surrounding Britain's EU referendum on 23 June has started to weigh on activity and that a vote to leave could “materially alter the outlook”.

The Inflation Report was released alongside the Monetary Policy Committee’s policy announcement which revealed it would keep interest rates at 0.50% and the size of the asset purchase programme at £375bn. The vote was unanimous and was expected by analysts.

Connor Campbell, financial analyst at Spreadex, said the FTSE 100 is “likely suffering from the enhanced pre-EU referendum fears, Mark Carney’s somewhat controversial claims over the economic downturn that could greet a Brexit pushing the issue back to the forefront of investors’ minds”.

A slump in oil prices did little to uplift the mood, with Brent crude down 0.37% to $47.90 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate down 0.84% to $46.31 per barrel at 0859 BST.

In economic data, German gross domestic product rose 0.7% in the first three months of the year compared to the previous quarter, beating estimates of 0.6% and marking an improvement on the fourth quarter’s 0.3% growth.

Still to come, UK construction data at 0930 BST, Eurozone GDP at 1000 BST, US retail sales at 1330 BST and the University of Michighan’s consumer confidence at 1500 BST.

On the company front, Coca-Cola HBC was in the red after reporting a 2.7% fall in first quarter sales revenues to €1.3bn, reflecting weak emerging market currencies against a strong euro.

Mining stocks rallied as metal prices rose with Antofagasta, Anglo American, Fresnillo and Glencore leading the way.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 6,087.36 -0.28%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 16,651.63 -0.05%
techMARK (TASX) 3,042.65 -0.04%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Antofagasta (ANTO) 418.20p 2.98%
Anglo American (AAL) 587.30p 2.14%
Fresnillo (FRES) 1,097.00p 2.05%
Glencore (GLEN) 133.20p 1.60%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 816.90p 1.19%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 6,235.00p 1.05%
ARM Holdings (ARM) 917.00p 0.99%
Worldpay Group (WI) (WPG) 265.10p 0.99%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,154.00p 0.61%
National Grid (NG.) 1,006.50p 0.40%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Inmarsat (ISAT) 762.00p -4.03%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 1,358.00p -2.79%
Direct Line Insurance Group (DLG) 364.10p -2.52%
RSA Insurance Group (RSA) 464.50p -2.40%
Prudential (PRU) 1,252.00p -1.80%
Legal & General Group (LGEN) 210.70p -1.59%
Admiral Group (ADM) 1,841.00p -1.50%
St James's Place (STJ) 847.50p -1.22%
Old Mutual (OML) 167.00p -1.18%
Aviva (AV.) 410.60p -1.16%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Vedanta Resources (VED) 364.90p 5.77%
Polypipe Group (PLP) 302.50p 4.31%
Acacia Mining (ACA) 340.40p 3.94%
Ibstock (IBST) 201.00p 3.02%
Diploma (DPLM) 770.00p 2.46%
Cobham (COB) 165.50p 2.41%
Clarkson (CKN) 2,309.00p 2.21%
John Laing Group (JLG) 215.20p 1.99%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 2,263.00p 1.89%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 254.90p 1.55%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Jimmy Choo (CHOO) 113.50p -3.81%
Aldermore Group (ALD) 185.60p -2.57%
Beazley (BEZ) 334.40p -2.19%
Countrywide (CWD) 345.40p -2.13%
IP Group (IPO) 153.60p -1.73%
Senior (SNR) 202.20p -1.70%
Micro Focus International (MCRO) 1,538.00p -1.60%
TalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) 264.90p -1.56%
Just Eat (JE.) 411.20p -1.49%
Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,065.00p -1.48%