“U.K. (UKX) stocks fell, with the FTSE 100 Index heading for its lowest close since January, as the country’s manufacturing output unexpectedly contracted and concern about the euro-area debt crisis resurfaced.
Halfords Group Plc (HFD) sank 3.2 percent after saying that its underlying costs will rise.Barclays Plc (BARC) and Lloyds Banking Group Plc (LLOY) led declines among lenders.
The FTSE 100 slid 17.75 points, or 0.3 percent, to 5,686.02 at 12:59 p.m. in London. The benchmark measure fell 2.3 percent yesterday after the Federal Reserve damped expectations of more monetary stimulus and demand declined at an auction of Spanish debt. The FTSE All-Share Index lost 0.3 percent today, while Ireland’s ISEQ slipped 0.2 percent.
“The euro crisis is still the greatest concern,” said Thomas Tilse, head of global portfolio strategy at Allianz Global Investors in Frankfurt. “The question, and what will be the answer to all this, is: will we be able to buy enough time to consolidate the budgets across Europe? Everything we have seen is all about buying time.” He spoke in a Bloomberg Television interview with Owen Thomas.
U.K. factory output fell 1 percent in February from January, the Office for National Statistics said today in London. The median forecast of 24 economists in a Bloomberg News survey had called for an increase of 0.1 percent.”
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