Britain’s leading share index edged lower on Friday as strength in banks and energy firms was not enough to offset a drop in retailers, which fell back as concern over competition from Amazon reared its head again.
The STOXX Europe 600 Index fell 0.1 percent to 374.07, slipping from last week’s 374.20 and set for a third monthly loss.
Britain’s FTSE 100 ended the week 0.1 percent lower at 7,401.46 points as the pound rose toward the end of the session, but the blue chips still posted a 1.1 percent gain for the day and the week.
Subprime lender Provident Financial PLC jumped 22.5 percent, recovering some of the heavy losses sustained on Tuesday after its second profit warning in as many months.
The company on Friday said it was reorganizing its beleaguered home credit business, replacing its head with immediate effect.
Provident shares were still down 50 percent on the week.
Energy stocks and financials combined added 7 points to the index, while miners Rio Tinto PLC, BHP Billiton Ltd and Anglo American PLC cemented gains as copper prices hit a three-year high on a brightening outlook for demand from China.
Cyclical sectors such as miners, which benefit from their high US dollar exposure in a weaker sterling environment, have been supporting benchmarks and the FTSE 350 mining index hit its highest in three years on Friday.
However, retailers limited index gains after Amazon.com Inc said it would cut prices at Whole Foods Market, the food chain it acquired in June, reigniting fears of aggressive price competition for Europe’s supermarkets.
Supermarket chains Tesco PLC, Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC, Marks & Spencer Group PLC and Sainsbury’s PLC were among top fallers, down by 0.4 to 1.7 percent and tracking a broader slide in European retail stocks.
With the earnings season coming to a close, analysts said that British companies’ performance had been solid.
“Numbers have been pretty good in August, having had a couple of soft months in June and July,” Peel Hunt strategist Ian Williams said, adding that there were more upgrades than downgrades in analysts’ earnings revisions.
Drugmaker Shire PLC was also among the biggest gainers, rising 1.5 percent after Kepler Cheuvreux gave the stock a “buy” rating.
Among mid-caps, Computacenter PLC jumped 15.6 percent and posted its best day in more than eight years as investors cheered half-year results that showed revenue growth and increased shareholder returns.
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