By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.K. stocks struggled Tuesday, with
Burberry Group PLC losing the most on the FTSE 100 after sounding a
cautious note about demand for its luxury goods.
At the same time, shares of rival fashion house Mulberry Group
PLC were shoved sharply lower after its trading update.
The FTSE 100 benchmark index fell 0.3% to 6,347.31, nearly
wiping out Monday's advance of 0.4%. A loss on Tuesday would mark
the FTSE's fifth decline in six sessions.
Burberry shares fell 5.1%. The luxury fashion company said sales
in the first half of the year climbed 14% to 1.1 billion pounds
($1.8 billion). Same-store sales growth of 12% in the first quarter
was in line with its expectations, but comparable sales in the
second quarter slowed to 8%, "affected by external factors in some
markets," Burberry said.
Off the FTSE 100, Mulberry sank 23% following the company's
warning that pretax profit for the full year to March 2015 will
likely come in "significantly below current expectations."
Miners for a second straight trading session scored gains on the
main benchmark, with Rio Tinto PLC higher by 2.5%, Anglo American
PLC up 2.4% and BHP Billiton PLC tacking on 1.5%.
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