U.K.’s FTSE 100 fell to a two-month low on Wednesday, pulled down by energy sectors as investors were concerned about China’s economic revival. At the same time, power giant Drax had its worst day in over a year on a regulatory probe.
After disappointing China economic data clouded raw material outlooks, heavyweight energy businesses (.FTNMX601010) slumped 1%, dragging down the globally oriented FTSE 100 (.FTSE) by 0.2%.
“We’re seeing pressure come from numerous parts of the world today on U.K. equity markets,” said City Index market analyst Joshua Warner.
“The economic data (from China) showed that the post-pandemic recovery may not be running at full steam as we were hoping and so we’ve got some commodity stocks trading lower today.”
China-focused Prudential Plc (PRU.L) slumped 2.5% after its finance chief resigned following a probe into recent recruitment.
Drax Group Plc (DRX.L) after Ofgem said it examined whether the power utility violated yearly profiling reporting rules.
The FTSE 100 will lose over 5% in May, its worst month since September’s market frenzy. Investors worry about global growth and U.S. debt deal concerns.
As inflation and central bank monetary tightening weighed on mood, the domestically focused FTSE lost roughly 4% in the month.
The discount retailer B&M European Retail SA (BMEB.L) rose 5.7% to a two-month high after forecasting greater annual core earnings.
The Ladbrokes-owner’s comments sent Entain Plc (ENT.L) down 2.1%.
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