By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Shares of Unilever PLC led U.K. stocks
lower on Tuesday after warning of slower sales in the third
quarter, while mining firms slipped after Chinese manufacturing
data missed expectations.
The FTSE 100 index dropped 0.2% to 6,449.76, on track for the
lowest close in a month.
Shares of consumer-products company Unilever (UL) posted the
biggest loss in the index, off 3.8%, after the firm late Monday
downgraded its sales-growth expectations for the third quarter due
to a slowdown in emerging markets.
Peer firm Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC erased 2.4%.
Mining firms also added pressure on the London benchmark after
the official monthly manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index for
the country missed analyst expectations. The gauge rose to 51.1 in
September from 51 in August, below an estimate compiled by Dow
Jones Newswires of 51.6.
Shares of Anglo American PLC lost 1%, Rio Tinto PLC (RIO) fell
0.8% and BHP Billiton PLC (BHP) dropped 0.6%. Metals prices were
mixed, with gold and silver on the rise, but copper, platinum and
palladium heading south.
Oil prices were also lower, weighing on the U.K. oil firms.
Shares of Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSB) gave up 0.9%, BG Group PLC
shed 0.5% and Tullow Oil PLC lost 0.4%.
On a more upbeat note in London, shares of heating- and
plumbing-products supplier Wolseley PLC (WOSYY) picked up 1.7%
after the firm said it will return 300 million pounds ($487.1
million) to shareholders in a special dividend after reporting a
rise in full-year profit and revenue.
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