FTSE 100 Declines As Energy Stocks Drag, Retail Sales Disappoint
(RTTNews) - U.K. stocks traded lower on Tuesday after data showed U.K. retail sales grew only moderately in May despite a strong bank holiday weekend.
According to data released by the British Retail Consortium, total retail sales grew 0.7 percent on a yearly basis compared to the 3.9 percent increase seen in the same period last year.
Food sales gained 3.6 percent in three months to May, while non-food sales dropped 2.4 percent.
"Despite a strong bank holiday weekend for retailers, minimal improvement to weather across most of May meant only a modest rebound in retail sales last month," BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said.
The benchmark FTSE 100 was down 52 points, or 0.6 percent, at 8,210 after declining 0.2 percent on Monday.
BP Plc tumbled 3.5 percent and Shell lost 2.1 percent as oil extended losses from a four-month low on worries about rising supply later in the year.
British American Tobacco fell 1.3 percent. The cigarette maker said it expects first-half revenue and adjusted profit from operations to be down by low-single digits on an organic, constant currency basis.
Low-cost airline Wizz Air Holdings dropped about 1 percent despite revealing a 2.1 percent jump in passenger bookings and a slight increase in load factor for May.
Vistry Group shed 1 percent after it agreed terms with Blackstone Real Estate and Regis Group for the acquisition of a portfolio of new build homes totaling a gross development value of approximately 580 million pounds.
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