UK Stocks Take a Hit: Investing.com UK 100 Plunges 0.73% in Sudden Downturn
- UK equities closed lower on Wednesday, driven by losses in the mining, pharmaceuticals, and energy sectors.
- The FTSE 100 index fell 0.73% to a new low in nearly one month, closing at [insert closing value].
- A total of 956 stocks rose on the London Stock Exchange, outnumbering the 942 stocks that closed down.
UK Equities Fall as Losses in Key Sectors Weigh on Shares
UK equities closed lower on Wednesday, driven by losses in the mining, pharmaceuticals, and energy sectors.
The FTSE 100 index fell 0.73% to a new low in nearly one month, closing at [insert closing value].
Top Performers
The best performers of the session were:
- Smurfit Kappa (LON:SKG), which rose 9.70% or 334.00 points to trade at 3,779.00 at the close.
- Entain PLC (LON:ENT), which rose 8.64% (61.60 points) to end at 774.80.
- Flutter Entertainment PLC (LON:FLTR), which rose 5.62% to 18,140.00 in late trade.
Worst Performers
The worst performers of the session were:
- Anglo American plc (LON:AAL), which fell 3.93% (97.50 points) to trade at 2,385.50.
- GSK plc (LON:GSK), which fell 3.07% or 44.50 points to end at 1,407.00.
- AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals (LON:AZN), which fell 2.84% or 328.00 points to end at 11,206.00.
Market Summary
A total of 956 stocks rose on the London Stock Exchange, outnumbering the 942 stocks that closed down. Meanwhile, 565 stocks remained unchanged.
Commodity Prices
The price of gold futures for December delivery rose 0.59% (16.50 points) to $2,797.60. Other commodity prices included:
- WTI crude oil futures for December delivery, which increased by 1.96% (1.32 points) to US$68.53.
- London Brent crude oil futures for January delivery, which rose by 1.89% (1.34) to US$72.07.
Currency Exchange Rates
The GBP/USD exchange rate remained relatively stable, with a 0.19% change and an exchange rate of 1.30. Meanwhile, the EUR/GBP exchange rate was basically unchanged at 0.52%, with a quote of 0.84.
The US dollar index futures fell 0.22% to 103.96.