By Polya Lesova
British stocks dropped on Tuesday, breaking their multisession
winning streak, as shares of Barclays PLC declined after the
banking giant announced the appointment of a new chief
executive.
The FTSE 100 index fell 0.7% to 5,402.43 points in morning
trading. It gained 0.2% in the previous session.
Shares of Barclays dropped 2.7%, making the bank one of the top
decliners in the main index.
The bank announced that Robert Diamond will become its new group
chief executive starting early next year. He will succeed John
Varley, who has been at the helm since 2004.
Other financial stocks also declined, with shares of Lloyds
Banking Group PLC falling 2.2% and those of Royal Bank of Scotland
Group slipping 2%.
Shares of HSBC Holdings PLC (HBC) traded up 0.2%. Stephen Green,
chairman of HSBC, is planning to leave the bank to become the U.K.
trade minister, the BBC reported on Tuesday.
In the telecommunications sector, shares of Cable & Wireless
Worldwide PLC dropped 2.3%. They had gained in the previous session
following a media report that Singapore Telecoms is considering a
bid for the firm.
Mining shares also posted losses. Vedanta Resources PLC slipped
2.1% and Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. fell 2.4%.
Shares of U.K. online grocer Ocado Group PLC dropped 4%, even as
it reported a 30% increase in quarterly sales. The firm recently
went public in a troubled initial offering.
In other trading, shares of Whitbread PLC fell 0.4%. The U.K.
hotel and restaurant group said its total group sales rose 14% for
the 24 weeks to Aug. 19, as like-for-like sales also increased.
Shares of U.K. tour operator TUI Travel PLC dropped 2.1%.
Goldman Sachs cut its rating on the stock to neutral from buy,
saying it sees better value elsewhere in the sector.