London close: Stocks end lower on slump in commodities

Oil prices reversed the previous day’s gains on concerns about a supply glut after a report showed an unexpected rise in US crude inventories.

The Energy Information Administration said US crude inventories rose in the week ended Dec. 25 by 2.6m barrels, compared to analysts’ expectations for a drop of 2.5m barrels.

Shares in BP, Tullow Oil and Nostrum Oil & Gas headed south in afternoon trade.

Brent crude fell 3.2% to $36.61 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate dropped 3.1% to $36.70 per barrel at 1628 GMT.

Adding to woes in the sector, Saudi Arabia’s energy minister on Wednesday said the nation would continue to put pressure on high-cost oil producers in a bid to maintain its share of the market.

Metal prices were also under pressure with gold down 0.81%, silver down 0.88% and copper down 0.28% on the Comex.

Anglo American, BHP Billiton and Acacia Mining were among the biggest fallers in the sector.

IMF sounds gloomy note

On another negative note for markets, International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde warned global growth next year would be hurt by a slowdown in emerging economies, the prospect of rising US interest rates, a strong dollar and an aging population.

"In many countries the financial sector still has weaknesses and in emerging markets the financial risks are increasing. All of that means global growth will be disappointing and uneven in 2016," Lagarde said in a guest article for German newspaper Handelsblatt published on Wednesday.

In the UK, a report from Nationwide showed house prices climbed 0.8% month in December compared to November, which was the largest month-on-month increase since April.

Nationwide said this lifted the annual pace of house price growth to 4.5%, a high-month high, from 3.7% in November.

The Chartered Institute of Personnel Development said UK salaries will continue to grow 2% next year, below the 3.5% increase forecast by the Office for Budget Responsibility and the Bank of England.

The industry body said employers were fretting about the cost of the increased minimum wage, greater pension costs for smaller companies and a looming charge on large companies for taking on apprentices.

In China, the central bank’s vice governor Yi Gang said there was no basis for continued yuan depreciation, with China capable of keeping the currency stable at a reasonable level, with China's still strong economic growth and foreign exchange reserves major factors that would underpin the currency.

However, increasing arbitrage from the widening gap between the currency’s exchange rates in China and abroad has led to authorities suspending at least two foreign banks from conducting some cross-border yuan business until late March, according to sources cited by Bloomberg.

Elsewhere, Reuters cited People's Bank of China policy advisers who suggested China could run its biggest budget deficit in half a century next year as increased government spending is employed to boost the slowing economy, after a year of monetary policy failed to create the desired results. The government has been advised to expand its budget deficit to roughly 3% of GDP in 2016 from a target of 2.3%, which was said to help ease the pain from plans to tackle oversupply and debt.

In the US, a report showed pending home sales rose 5.1% in November from a year ago, following a 2.3% increase in October. Analysts had expected a 4% gain.

Company-wise, Rolls Royce was in the red after members of the UK parliament were reportedly set to meet the group’s boss Warren East to discuss his restructuring plans for the aerospace and defence group following its five profit warnings.

Supermarkets were under the cosh, including Sainsbury’s and Ocado, on concerns about Amazon’s plans to expand its UK grocery delivery service .

Crimson Tide surged after saying that it has called a general meeting as it looks to get shareholder approval for a capital reconstruction.

Payments processor Worldpay, which listed on the London stock market in October and marched its way into the FTSE 100 this month, was enjoying a solid end to the year. Meanwhile, consumer goods stocks were also in the black, with Reckitt Benckiser and Unilever both higher.

Banking stocks were sitting lower including Asia-focused Standard Chartered, Royal Bank of Scotland and HSBC Holdings.

Sports Direct was also on the back foot, having been the subject of a damning report by the Guardian earlier this month over the way it treats its staff.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 6,279.44 -0.56%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 17,528.12 -0.23%
techMARK (TASX) 3,261.53 -0.25%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Antofagasta (ANTO) 472.10p 2.47%
Worldpay Group (WI) (WPG) 307.70p 1.22%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 614.00p 0.74%
Next (NXT) 7,275.00p 0.55%
Shire Plc (SHP) 4,705.00p 0.47%
Carnival (CCL) 3,891.00p 0.44%
Kingfisher (KGF) 333.80p 0.42%
DCC (DCC) 5,690.00p 0.35%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,213.00p 0.33%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 456.60p 0.33%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Glencore (GLEN) 89.80p -3.54%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 2,292.00p -2.80%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 566.10p -2.53%
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 302.80p -2.35%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 760.60p -1.96%
Anglo American (AAL) 301.80p -1.81%
BP (BP.) 355.15p -1.55%
Intu Properties (INTU) 321.50p -1.50%
Royal Mail (RMG) 449.00p -1.41%
BG Group (BG.) 991.50p -1.39%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Euromoney Institutional Investor (ERM) 1,000.00p 2.56%
Sophos Group (SOPH) 262.00p 2.42%
Laird (LRD) 359.40p 2.10%
Just Eat (JE.) 494.90p 2.00%
Domino's Pizza Group (DOM) 1,063.00p 1.92%
Keller Group (KLR) 826.00p 1.79%
Daejan Holdings (DJAN) 6,455.00p 1.49%
Auto Trader Group (AUTO) 441.90p 1.42%
Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group (JLT) 934.50p 1.36%
OneSavings Bank (OSB) 361.10p 1.23%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Acacia Mining (ACA) 175.00p -6.32%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 163.50p -5.49%
Morgan Advanced Materials (MGAM) 254.80p -3.56%
DFS Furniture (DFS) 334.40p -3.04%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 316.20p -2.98%
Nostrum Oil & Gas (NOG) 400.50p -2.96%
Entertainment One Limited (ETO) 168.60p -2.82%
NMC Health (NMC) 862.00p -2.65%
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 64.95p -2.33%
Home Retail Group (HOME) 99.20p -2.27%