London close: Utilities, banks, supermarkets drag FTSE 100 down

Equities indices on both sides of the English channel were lower, although those on the other side of the Atlantic were making early gains.

"Attempts at a rally by UK and European markets have come to nothing today, while in the US their final full day before the holiday has begun with a small bounce," said Christ Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG.

"US traders now have one eye firmly on Independence Day, but for now they are looking to finish the quarter with small gains,"

The FTSE 100 close down 0.51% to 7,312.72, and the FTSE 250 slipped 0.03% to 19,340.15. Gold and silver prices were under pressure, but copper improved. Crude oil was also up.

"Things gradually became less interesting this afternoon," said Connor Campbell, financial analyst at Spreadex. "European indices sank into the week wrapped up."

He said the FTSE 100's fall came as a Brexit-infected UK managed a "measly" economic growth in the first quarter.

UK gross domestic product (GDP) grew 0.2% in the first quarter, a final read by Office for National Statistics showed. This was as expected, and down sharply from 0.7% at end-2016.

"Fresh official data reveal how the economy slowed sharply at the start of the year as higher prices squeezed households," said Chris Williamson, chief business economist at IHS Markit.

He added that other pockets of growth and stronger business survey data suggested the economy should have regained some momentum in the second quarter.

"The squeeze on household spending is no surprise, given recent weak wage growth and rising inflation. The squeeze may well continue through the rest of the year, as inflation looks set to rise further.

"The big question is whether other parts of the economy can take up the slack from squeezed households."

David Madden, market analyst at CMC Markets UK, observed that the FTSE 100 had started off in the red, risen a little and then turned negative again towards the close.

"The London equity benchmark has been in decline since the start of the month, and the relatively strong pound accelerated the sell-off in recent trading sessions," he said.

Madden noted that retail stocks such as Dixons Carphone, Kingfisher and Next were some of the bigger blue-chip fallers as the UK consumer confidence -- as gauged by GfK -- softened.

Also on the corporate front, utilities such as United Utilities, SSE, Centrica and National Grid were prominent among the FTSE 100's list of losers.

United Utilities fall was thanks to a Credit Suisse cut its stance to 'underperform'. Retailer Next lost ground as Barclays highlighted some challenges.

Banks were also down firmly, led by Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds and Barclays. Supermarkets such as Marks & Spencer, Tesco and Sainsbury were under the cosh, too.

BHP Billiton ticked up after announcing the approval of $250m in financial support for the Renova Foundation and Samarco Mineração until 31 December 2017.

BP and Shell fell after Kepler Cheuvreux downgraded both stocks. It cut Shell to 'hold' from 'buy' and BP to 'reduce' from 'hold' as it reduced the long-term oil price from $60 to $50.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,312.72 -0.51%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,340.15 -0.03%
techMARK (TASX) 3,507.76 -0.05%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Mondi (MNDI) 2,014.00p 1.61%
Smurfit Kappa Group (SKG) 2,396.00p 1.53%
Royal Mail (RMG) 421.20p 1.47%
Convatec Group (CTEC) 319.20p 1.40%
Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 7,784.00p 1.26%
Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,597.00p 1.14%
Mediclinic International (MDC) 741.50p 1.09%
Standard Life (SL.) 399.10p 1.04%
St James's Place (STJ) 1,182.00p 0.94%
DCC (DCC) 6,990.00p 0.94%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

United Utilities Group (UU.) 867.50p -3.45%
Next (NXT) 3,856.00p -3.02%
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 247.20p -2.25%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 333.30p -2.11%
Severn Trent (SVT) 2,182.00p -1.93%
Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 2,871.00p -1.88%
Tesco (TSCO) 168.80p -1.86%
Kingfisher (KGF) 300.70p -1.86%
BP (BP.) 442.80p -1.58%
Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 2,062.50p -1.53%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Softcat (SCT) 393.00p 4.51%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 207.40p 3.03%
Domino's Pizza Group (DOM) 293.90p 2.55%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 2,421.00p 2.32%
Coats Group (COA) 78.00p 2.23%
Dignity (DTY) 2,486.00p 2.22%
UDG Healthcare Public Limited Company (UDG) 866.00p 2.12%
Renishaw (RSW) 3,620.00p 2.12%
Brewin Dolphin Holdings (BRW) 342.70p 2.12%
Petra Diamonds Ltd.(DI) (PDL) 109.20p 2.06%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 350.00p -3.90%
Sirius Minerals (SXX) 30.34p -3.68%
Supergroup (SGP) 1,495.00p -3.30%
Serco Group (SRP) 114.90p -2.96%
IP Group (IPO) 134.60p -2.82%
Euromoney Institutional Investor (ERM) 1,075.00p -2.63%
Electra Private Equity (ELTA) 1,755.00p -2.39%
Daejan Holdings (DJAN) 6,175.00p -2.37%
Pennon Group (PNN) 825.50p -2.25%
Greene King (GNK) 673.50p -2.18%