This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-31725684
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Version 0 | Version 1 |
---|---|
Pound hit by UK services survey | |
(about 4 hours later) | |
(Noon): The pound pulled back from a near seven-year euro high after a survey indicated that growth in the UK's service sector slowed last month. | |
The Markit/CIPS UK services Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) fell to 56.7, from 57.2 in January. | |
The figure was below forecasts, but a reading above 50 indicates expansion and Markit said it showed the sector was continuing to see strong growth. | |
The pound had climbed above €1.38 at one point, but then fell back. | |
The weaker-than-expected PMI survey pulled the pound back to €1.3783. Against the dollar, the pound was down 0.1% at $1.5342. | |
The FTSE 100 lost momentum as the morning progressed, and was down 20.93 points at 6,868.20. | |
Shares in Fresnillo led the index lower, dropping 4.8% after it reported a 40% drop in annual profits to $251.1m. The precious metals miner has been affected by the fall in gold and silver prices. | |
Legal & General reported a 10% rise in operating profits for 2014, but this fell short of expectations and its shares dropped 3.6%. | |
ITV rose 5% after the broadcaster reported a big rise in annual profits and also announced a £250m special dividend for shareholders. | |
Standard Chartered's shares climbed 4.7%, despite it reporting a 30% drop in full-year pre-tax profits. | |
In the FTSE 250, shares in bakery chain Greggs rose 6% after the company's full-year pre-tax profits jumped by nearly 50% to £49.7m. Revenues were up more than 5% to nearly £804m. | |
Greggs said recent trading had been good, with sales at stores open at least a year up 6.3% in the first eight weeks of 2015. | Greggs said recent trading had been good, with sales at stores open at least a year up 6.3% in the first eight weeks of 2015. |