UKX FTSE 100 Index

By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch

U.K. construction PMI at lowest since 2013

U.K. stocks were hit hard Wednesday, with shares of BHP Billiton PLC and J Sainsbury PLC among those pulling the market's blue-chip benchmark toward its third consecutive decline.

The FTSE 100 lost 1.3% to 6,106.37, with just a few components moving higher. The index on Tuesday dropped 0.9% (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ftse-100-drives-toward-lowest-in-nearly-a-month-as-miners-sink-2016-05-03) and marked its lowest close since April 7.

Circling the bottom of the index Wednesday were shares of iron ore heavyweight BHP Billiton PLC (BLT.LN) (BHP.AU) (BHP.AU), which fell 6.5%. The move came after Brazilian federal prosecutors filed a civil lawsuit Tuesday over a catastrophic dam failure in November. Prosecutors are seeking up to 155 billion reais ($43.55 billion) (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/mining-firms-bhp-vale-face-44b-lawsuit-in-brazil-2016-05-03) for cleanup and remediation.

The dam was run by Samarco Mineração, a joint venture between BHP and Brazilian miner Vale SA (VALE5.BR) (VALE5.BR).

Elsewhere in the mining space, Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS.LN) posted a 13% rise in first-quarter profit (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/randgold-profit-rises-on-higher-gold-output-2016-05-04-24853252), but the gold miner's shares slid 6%.

Meanwhile, shares of Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSB.LN) (RDSB.LN) shed 1.7%. The oil major said quarterly adjusted earnings fell to $1.6 billion (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/shell-profit-falls-but-beats-forecasts-2016-05-04-34851723) from $3.7 billion a year earlier, but that still beat analysts' expectations.

Grocers: Also in the red were shares of J Sainsbury (SBRY.LN). They fell 4.9% after the grocer cut its dividend payout (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/sainsbury-cuts-dividend-payout-2016-05-04) in a continued effort to manage costs. The U.K.'s second-largest grocer by market share swung to a fiscal year pretax profit of GBP548 million.

Separately, a survey from Kantar showed the top four U.K. grocers lost market share (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/top-four-uk-grocers-lose-market-share-2016-05-04)during the 12 weeks ended April 24 to German discounters Aldi and Lidl. Shares of Tesco PLC (TSCO.LN)(TSCO.LN) and Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC (MRW.LN) fell 2.8% and 2.6%, respectively.

But topping the FTSE 100 was Next PLC (NXT.LN), picking up 4%. The apparel and household retailer cut its full-year forecast and posted a quarterly decline in brand sales. But a more than 4% rise in sales in its directory business helped lift Next's shares, said Hargreaves Lansdown in a note.

Direct Line Insurance Group PLC (DLG.LN) gained 0.3% as the company said quarterly gross premiums for ongoing operations rose by 4.2% (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/direct-line-quarterly-gross-premiums-rise-42-2016-05-04).

The pound was down 0.1% at $1.1478, moving lower after data firm Markit said U.K. construction activity slumped to the lowest since 2013 in April, to a reading of 52.0. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected a reading of 54.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 04, 2016 06:31 ET (10:31 GMT)

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