By Atul Prakash
LONDON (Reuters) – The FTSE 100 fell on Thursday, with companies such as Centrica (CNA.L), Sainsbury’s (SBRY.L), GlaxoSmithKline (GSK.L) and Morrisons (MRW.L) falling sharply after trading without the attraction of their latest dividend payouts.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index (.FTSE) fell 0.6 percent after gaining in the previous two sessions. The benchmark index is down about 2 percent so far this year.
Britain’s largest energy supplier Centrica led the market lower, with its shares falling 3.8 percent. Sainsbury’s, GlaxoSmithKline and Morrisons were down 1.8 to 3.4 percent as their shares traded ex-dividend.
Commercial broadcaster ITV (ITV.L) slipped 2 percent, taking this month’s losses to more than 6 percent, after saying that companies were holding back from buying advertising in the build up to next month’s European Union referendum in Britain, prompting it to lower its forecast for first-half ad revenues.
“In periods of economic uncertainty, advertising budgets are usually the first to fall foul of spending cuts as companies become less certain on prospects,” Richard Hunter, head of research at Wilson King Investment Management, said.
“This uncertainty, coupled with the broader debate on the future of free-to-air broadcasting, has resulted in the shares missing out on the recent market recovery.”
Some companies reacted after their results. Packaging and paper company Mondi (MNDI.L) rose 3.4 percent after saying its first-quarter underlying profit rose 14 percent on strong performance from consumer packaging, uncoated fine paper and better sales in South Africa.
Gold miners were also in demand, with investors betting on the continuity of a rally in gold prices. Shares in Randgold Resources (RRS.L) and Fresnillo (FRES.L) rose 1.9 percent and 1.5 percent respectively.
(Reporting by Atul Prakash; Editing by Richard Balmforth)
