By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch

Randgold lifts dividends

U.K. stocks took another beating on Monday, as fears of a global growth slowdown and continued jitters in the oil market punched investor sentiment.

The FTSE 100 index tumbled 1.8% to 5,742.29, for a second straight session in red.

The index ended last week (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/uk-stocks-wobble-as-miners-lose-hold-on-gains-2016-02-05) down 3.9%, its largest weekly slide since early January, after a mixed U.S. jobs report, jitters in the oil market and a dovish Bank of England quarterly inflation report.

Read: OECD indicators: Slowdowns ahead for Japan, U.S (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oecd-indicators-slowdowns-ahead-for-japan-us-2016-02-08).

Those concerns lingered in Monday's trade, with a slightly higher open overruled by a renewed selloff in oil. West Texas Intermediate crude oil slumped more than 2.5% (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-pops-above-31-a-barrel-as-traders-keep-close-watch-on-the-dollar-2016-02-08) and was on path to slip back below $30 a barrel.

Shares of Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSB.LN) (RDSB.LN) lost 2.8%, BG Group PLC (BG.LN) fell 1.5%, and Tullow Oil PLC (TLW.LN) slid 4.6%. BP PLC (BP.LN) (BP.LN) gave up 3%.

It was a brighter trading day for the mining sector, however. Shares of Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS.LN) (RRS.LN) rose to the top of the London benchmark, up 3.1%, after the gold miner said it's lifting its dividend (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/randgold-lifts-dividend-after-record-output-2016-02-08). The West African miner also reported record output and forecast higher production for 2016.

Some other mining companies were also on the rise, tracking solid gains across most metals (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gold-jumps-to-3-month-high-as-equities-continue-selloff-2016-02-08). Rio Tinto PLC (RIO) (RIO) (RIO) added 0.4% and Fresnillo PLC (FRES.LN) gained 1.5%.

Among other movers, shares of Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC (RR.LN) (RR.LN) dropped 3.1% ahead of its earnings release on Friday. The aerospace and defense company is tipped to announce a dividend cut, said Tony Cross, market analyst at Trustnet Direct, in a note.

BT Group PLC (BT.A.LN) fell 1.4% after the telecom company said it's looking for a new finance director (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/bt-on-hunt-for-new-finance-chief-2016-02-08) to succeed Tony Chanmugam.

HSBC Holdings PLC (HSBA.LN) (HSBA.LN) (HSBA.LN) lost 2.7% after British newspaper the Telegraph reported the bank is expected to decide this week (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/epic/hsba/12145047/HSBC-to-stay-in-London-as-board-meets-for-final-decision-on-HQ.html) whether to move its headquarters outside the U.K.

Outside the main U.K. stock benchmark, shares of Imagination Technologies Group PLC (IMG.LN) sank 8.9% after the Apple-supplier (AAPL) warned it will report a loss for the full year (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/apple-supplier-imagination-tech-warns-of-loss-2016-02-08).

On the data front, the BDO business optimism index showed business confidence in the U.K. has fallen to a three-year low (http://www.bdo.co.uk/press/business-confidence-falls-to-three-year-low), fueled partly by uncertainty over the upcoming vote on Britain's EU membership.

Investing Insights: A global markets survival guide

If you'll be in London on Tuesday, Feb. 23, you're invited to join us for an evening of cocktails and conversation on the topics of shifting monetary policy, growth, currencies, and the outlook for investing opportunities and risks in European and global markets.

Our panelists for the evening will include MarketWatch Personal Finance and Investing Columnist Robert Powell; Mark Hulbert, Editor of the Hulbert Financial Digest; and Virginie Maisonneuve, Founder and Managing Director of Maisonneuve Global Advisors.

The event is free and open to the public, but reservations are required. For more information or to RSVP for the event, please email (MarketWatchevent@wsj.com).

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 08, 2016 06:58 ET (11:58 GMT)

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