Gloomy earnings spark decline in British equities

The UK's FTSE 100 declined on Thursday as Standard Chartered led a slide in bank stocks and Unilever led a drop in consumer shares after the two blue-chip companies posted disappointing earnings, reports Reuters.

The FTSE 100 declined 0.8 per cent by 0830 GMT, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 edged 0.5 per cent lower, on track for a three-day losing streak.

Shares of Standard Chartered dropped 11.2 per cent to the bottom of FTSE 100 after the UK lender reported a 33 per cent tumble in third-quarter pre-tax profit due to a nearly $1 billion hit from exposure to China's banking and troubled real estate sectors.

The broader banks index slid 2.7 per cent to its lowest level in seven months.

Unilever met market expectations for third-quarter sales growth after raising prices at a slower rate but failed to win back shoppers who traded down to cheaper products amid elevated inflationary pressures globally.

The Dove soap maker's shares fell 2.7 per cent, while the personal care, drug and grocery stores index lost 1.7 per cent to hit its lowest since mid-November last year.

"Between higher interest rates and inflation that continues to remain high, companies are being hit heavily," said Daniela Hathorn, senior market analyst, at Capital.com.

WPP, the world's largest ad group, cut its full-year outlook for the second quarter in a row, taking its shares down 3.1 per cent.

Shares of Renishaw fell 1.8 per cent after the British engineering company posted a drop in quarterly profit and revenue.

A survey published by US bank Citi showed the British public's expectations for year-ahead inflation continued to ease in September.