BUILDING supplies group Wolseley has led the London market lower as it fell for a second day following large losses in the previous session.
The FTSE 100 Index dropped 49.6 points to 5909.2 following a 150-point slump on Monday and big falls on Asian markets overnight.
Plumb Center owner Wolseley was down 12 per cent, after it warned of slowing revenue growth as pre-tax profits for the full-year to the end of July fell 25 per cent to £508 million.
But it was a calmer session for European markets after recent see-saw trading amid turmoil sparked by China's growth slowdown and speculation over US interest rates. Germany's Dax and France's Cac 40 both edged higher.
UK sentiment was helped by CBI figures showing retail sales growing faster than expected, while Bank of England data showed mortgage approvals at a 19-month high in August.
The pound was slightly ahead against the US dollar at just over 1.51 and against the euro at a little under 1.35.
Among London stocks, Wolseley was the biggest faller in the top flight after its UK profits fell on a weak performance from its home improvement business.
The US, which represents the bulk of its profits, saw growth, but suffered a tough period for industrial markets in the fourth quarter that is expected to continue.
Like-for-like revenue is now predicted to rise four per cent in the first half, down from 7.1 per cent over the 2014/15 full year. Shares fell 523p at 3656p.
Meanwhile, commodities trading and mining giant Glencore gained ground after a dramatic 29 per cent slump in the previous session, with a rise of 17 , or 11.6p to 80.3p.
Elsewhere in the top-flight, supermarkets were ahead after a note from Bernstein analyst Bruno Monteyne on latest results from Aldi showing that despite strong sales growth its profits had fallen amid the sector's price war.
He said it showed the German-owned discounter - which together with Lidl has been gnawing at the market share of larger rivals - did not have a "magic formula", adding: "Things are looking better for the UK-listed names."
Tesco rose three per cent or 5.1p to 171.3p while Sainsbury's added 3.2p to 229.3p and Morrisons climbed 0.6p to 156.1p.
Outside the FTSE 100, home shopping business Findel was ahead after revealing that retail giant Sports Direct had taken an 18.9 per cent stake in the group.
It separately revealed that it had agreed terms for the sale of its football kit business, Kitbag, to a third party. Shares rose 13 per cent, or 26.4p, to 228p. Sports Direct fell 13p to 740.5p.
Meanwhile, menswear specialist Moss Bros was in favour after it posted a 44 per cent rise in half-year profits to £2.8m and hailed the turnaround of its suit hire business. The stock added almost four per cent, or 3.5p, to 95p.
The biggest risers in the FTSE 100 Index were Glencore up 11.6p at 80.3p, Tesco up 5.1p at 171.3p, Antofagasta up 10.7p at 491.7p and Royal Dutch Shell up 28.5p at 1543p.
The biggest fallers in the FTSE 100 Index were Wolseley down 523p at 3656p, Hikma Pharmaceuticals down 196p at 2233p, Persimmon down 110p at 1999p and Taylor Wimpey down 10.4p at 193.1p.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here