UK stocks retreated on Friday as investors weighed recent policy signals from the Bank of England, the Federal Reserve, and the Bank of Japan.
The benchmark FTSE 100 fell 78.87 points, or 0.73%, to trade at 10,737.27 in late morning trading.
Despite the broader market weakness, falling oil prices helped cushion some of the session’s losses by easing concerns over supply disruptions.
Airtel Africa was among the hardest hit, dropping nearly 10% after reports emerged that Airtel Money’s owners are considering raising less money than previously sought in their planned IPO.
A Bloomberg report, citing people familiar with the matter, said the IPO is now expected to raise at least $800 million, down from a previously targeted range of $1.5 billion to $2 billion reported in April.
Sources indicated Airtel Money is now targeting a valuation of $8 billion to $9 billion, aligning more closely with current technology stock valuations and down from the $10 billion previously sought.
Coca-Cola HBC tumbled 5.5%, while Vodafone Group, BT Group, Next, and Entain each shed between 3.4% and 4.3% on the day.
Glencore, JD Sports Fashion, M&G, Metlen Energy & Metals, Investec, Centrica, Prudential, Legal & General, Aviva, BP, Babcock International, Shell, Standard Life, and Sainsbury also declined sharply.
On the positive side, IG Group Holdings climbed nearly 2%, Fresnillo gained 1.8%, and AstraZeneca advanced 1.3% during the session.
Persimmon, Lion Finance, Endeavour Mining, Pearson, Scottish Mortgage, British American Tobacco, Spirax Group, and Diploma each rose between 0.6% and 1.1%.
The broader market weakness came despite upbeat retail data, with the Office for National Statistics reporting that UK retail sales rebounded unexpectedly in August.
Retail sales grew 0.5% on a monthly basis, offsetting July’s 0.5% fall and beating expectations for a 0.2% decline.
Excluding auto fuel, retail sales increased 0.6% in August, reversing a 0.9% fall in July, against economists’ forecasts of a 0.2% decrease.
The ONS said non-store retailers partially recovered from falls in July, with lower sales volumes in July attributed to promotions occurring earlier in June, while department stores also picked up in August.
On a yearly basis, retail sales growth doubled to 2.4% from 1.2% in July, surpassing the forecast of 1.9% and underscoring resilient consumer demand heading into autumn.
