British stocks fell on Friday as chemicals company Croda led the industry to its worst day in more than three years, while stocks tied to the housing industry kept falling as the pressure in the industry grew.
London stocks fell. The benchmark FTSE 100 index decreased by 0.5%, while the midcap FTSE 250 index decreased by 0.1%. The weekly declines for each index were 0.6% and 0.3%, respectively.
After two major central banks unexpectedly raised interest rates earlier this week, the risk appetite was dampened, and the FTSE 100 declined for the third consecutive week.
Following the specialty chemicals group’s profit warning, component Croda International fell 12.5%, contributing to the chemicals sector’s 7.7% decline.
According to Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, “The market awards a premium rating when a company has a track record of delivering the goods.”
This implies the share price reaction might be extremely bad when something goes wrong.
The real estate and building industries experienced declines of 0.4% and 1%, respectively, as mortgage rates increased once more in Britain, and experts issued new warnings about the potential impact of rising borrowing costs on the housing market.
Moody’s, a credit rating firm, forecasts a 10% drop in British house prices over the next two years, and a more severe decline in the property sector could result in a protracted recession.
Losses on the exporter-heavy FTSE 100 increased as the pound gained momentum.
When Brookfield Asset Management announced that it had achieved an agreement with the payments provider for a cash offer of 2.2 billion pounds ($2.76 billion), Network (LON: NETW) International rose 5.6% among individual movers.
After permitting shareholder Michael Fleming to search for finance possibilities for the struggling business, Amigo Holdings saw a 123.1% increase in value.