FTSE 100 movers: Persimmon goes ex-div; retailers take a hit

London's FTSE 100 was down 1% to 7,400.03 in afternoon trade as investors digested the latest rate announcement from the Bank of England.

Retailers were under the cosh following the release of weak retail sales from the Office for National Statistics, which showed sales shrank much more than expected. Retail sales excluding automotive fuel fell 1.6% month-on-month in May, when a 0.9% decline had been expected after a revised 2.2% improvement the previous month.

Next, Marks & Spencer and B&Q owner Kingfisher were all weaker, although Next was also hit by a downgrade to 'underperform' from 'neutral' at Credit Suisse.

A profit warning from furniture retailer DFS also weighed on the broader sector, after it said full-year earnings will be below market expectations due to a weakened trading environment. DFS said the trading environment has deteriorated more than it expected and it has seen a significant drop in store footfall leading to a material reduction in customer orders due to macroeconomic uncertainty and the general election.

Persimmon and Severn Trent fell as their stock went ex-dividend.

Precious metals miners Fresnillo and Randgold Resources were under pressure as gold prices declined after the Federal Reserve lifted interest rates and struck a more hawkish tone than expected during its policy announcement on Wednesday.

Risers

HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 685.80p 0.75%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) 3,652.00p 0.55%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 1,578.00p 0.06%
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 249.70p -0.08%
Experian (EXPN) 1,618.00p -0.12%
Carnival (CCL) 5,075.00p -0.29%
BAE Systems (BA.) 657.00p -0.38%
Unilever (ULVR) 4,225.00p -0.40%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,339.00p -0.45%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 752.40p -0.49%

Fallers

Persimmon (PSN) 2,251.00p -7.06%
Next (NXT) 4,011.00p -6.74%
Fresnillo (FRES) 1,579.00p -6.01%
Anglo American (AAL) 1,008.50p -4.77%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 352.80p -4.47%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 569.00p -4.21%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 580.50p -3.97%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 7,185.00p -3.75%
Severn Trent (SVT) 2,401.00p -3.30%
Kingfisher (KGF) 300.20p -3.25%