Sector movers: Vodafone weighs on mobile telecoms

News that CK Hutchison Holdings and VimpelCom had won European Union approval to merge, in the process creating Italy´s biggest wireless telecommunications provider, sent stock in Vodafone sharply lower and its sector gauge with it.

Vodafone´s own unit in that Mediterranean country was thus left facing stiffer competition.

Shares in Vodafone closed down by 2.83%, although their 200-day moving average helped to break the share price fall.

However, it was Big Oil which acted as the biggest drag on the market on the heels of reports that Russia´s energy minister, Alexander Novak, had said no caps on oil output were needed with the price of crude trading at about $50.

In parallel, manufacturing sector data which was released around the world on Thursday pointed to a lacklustre outlook for factory activity worldwide, according to economists, and hence potentially too for energy demand.

BP and Royal Dutch Shell paced losses on the Footsie as a result.

Drug giants AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline also gave back some ground despite the risk-off mood in markets.

To take note of, perhaps, The Times reported that the former would pay $5.5m to settle an inquiry by US federal investigators into alleged improper payments by its staff to Chinese state healthcare officials between 2005 and 2010.

Top performing sectors so far today
Automobiles & Parts 7,619.76 +4.79%
Food Producers & Processors 8,853.63 +1.27%
Real Estate Investment Trusts 3,041.91 +1.25%
General Retailers 2,705.51 +1.05%
Financial Services 9,324.85 +0.94%

Bottom performing sectors so far today
Mobile Telecommunications 5,028.10 -2.65%
Oil & Gas Producers 6,904.24 -2.12%
Pharmaceuticals & Biotechnology 13,997.19 -1.83%
Industrial Metals & Mining 1,238.97 -1.72%
Health Care Equipment & Services 7,610.04 -1.12%