FTSE drops as US court case dents Reckitt’s shares
Hurt in part by a terrible performance from Reckitt, the FTSE 100 fell 15.73 points, or 0.20%, to end the day at 7,727.42.
Reckitt had earlier in the day been told by a jury in the US that it has to pay 60 million dollars (£47 million) to a mother who claims her child died after drinking Reckitt’s baby formula.
By the end of the day, the company’s shares had closed down 14.58%.
Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at online trading platform IG, said: “The FTSE 100 is ending the session on a quiet note after moving higher earlier today. Reckitt Benckiser shares were delivered a late blow this afternoon on news it will have to pay a fine in a US baby formula case.
“The share price slumped to a 10-year low and the outsize reaction to the fine seems to suggest more litigation could be on the way.”
At the end of the day in Europe, Frankfurt’s Dax index fell 0.03% while the Cac 40 in Paris had closed up 0.04%.
In New York a little while after markets had closed in Europe, the S&P 500 was trading down 0.89% while the Dow Jones was 0.72% lower.
On currency markets, the pound was trading 0.17% lower against the dollar at 1.2732 and had dropped 0.21% against the euro at 1.1694.
In company news, shares in Currys fell 5.86% after China’s JD.com said that it will not bid for the electronics retailer.
The company was thought to be considering a bid for Currys but, “following careful consideration,” it dropped any intention of proposing a takeover.
Elsewhere, shares in Barratt Developments were down 0.73% and Redrow dipped 1.28% after the competition watchdog said it would probe a £2.5 billion tie-up between the two housebuilders.
The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were IAG, up 9.2p to 158.15p, Vodafone, up 3.76p to 69.85p, Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust, up 43.2p to 824.2p, Endeavour Mining, up 34p to 1,479p, and Antofagasta, up 38p to 1,948p.
The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were Reckitt, down 766p to 4,486p, Imperial Brands, down 44.5p to 1,695.5p, GSK, down 38.2p to 1,649.6p, Intertek, down 100p to 4,846p, and Flutter Entertainment, down 345p to 17,115p.
