Oil and banks weigh on FTSE 100, which heads for a solid August gain

By Barbara Kollmeyer

London stocks fell on Tuesday as investors returned from a bank holiday on the last trading day of the month. The biggest decliners were banks and energy companies.

The FTSE 100 index /zigman2/quotes/210598409/delayed UK:UKX +0.34% slid 0.5% to 7,112.71, but was poised to gain 1% for August, after a flat performance in July. The pound /zigman2/quotes/210561263/realtime/sampled GBPUSD -0.0796% rose 0.2% to $1.3787. On the economic side, a survey from Lloyds revealed a four-year high for business confidence, though concerns about a shortage of workers.

Banks overall were under pressure, with heavily weighted HSBC /zigman2/quotes/208272822/composite HSBC +0.86% /zigman2/quotes/203901799/delayed UK:HSBA +1.87% down over 2%, Lloyds Banking Group /zigman2/quotes/202285510/delayed UK:LLOY +1.77% fell 1.5% and Standard Chartered /zigman2/quotes/200125072/delayed UK:STAN +2.73% dropped 1%.

Those losses came as Bank of England data released Tuesday showed individuals paid back £1.4 billion ($1.9 billion) of mortgage debt on net in July following record net borrowing of £17.7 billion in June. Mortgage approvals for house purchase were 75,200 in July, down from 80,300 in June.

Heavily weighted energy companies were also pressuring the index, as they struggled alongside weak oil prices /zigman2/quotes/209723049/delayed CL00 +0.62% . Many refineries in the Gulf Coast are struggling to get back online in the wake of Hurricane Ida, one of the biggest hurricanes to ever hit the U.S. Investors were also looking ahead to Wednesday’s meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, known as OPEC+.

Shares of Royal Dutch Shell and BP /zigman2/quotes/202286639/delayed UK:BP -1.26% /zigman2/quotes/207305210/composite BP -1.25% were down over 1% each.

Travel-related stocks fell a day after the European Union announced it was recommending a restriction on nonessential travel from the U.S. Shares of International Consolidated Airlines /zigman2/quotes/208070069/delayed UK:IAG +3.92% slid over 3%, along with Wizz Air /zigman2/quotes/210449062/delayed UK:WIZZ +4.76% . Cruise operator Carnival /zigman2/quotes/210414141/delayed UK:CCL +6.00% is down 2% and easyJet /zigman2/quotes/202825892/delayed UK:EZJ +3.03% dropped 1.7%.

Among the gainers, shares of food delivery group Just Eat Takeaway.com /zigman2/quotes/216303066/delayed UK:JET +4.27% rose over 2%, along with those of plumbing and heating distributor Ferguson /zigman2/quotes/209006722/delayed UK:FERG -0.22% /zigman2/quotes/202546598/composite FERG +0.33% .

/zigman2/quotes/210598409/delayed

Add to watchlist UK:UKX

FTSE 100 Index

UK : FTSE UK

7,515.38

+25.54 +0.34%

Volume: 636,472

Dec. 6, 2023 5:13p

/zigman2/quotes/210561263/realtime/sampled

Add to watchlist GBPUSD

British Pound

US : Tullett Prebon

1.2549

-0.0010 -0.0796%

Volume: 0.0000

Dec. 6, 2023 11:48p

/zigman2/quotes/208272822/composite

Add to watchlist HSBC

HSBC Holdings PLC ADR

US : U.S.: NYSE

$ 38.52

+0.33 +0.86%

Volume: 2.12M

Dec. 6, 2023 4:00p

P/E Ratio

5.60

Dividend Yield

6.83%

Market Cap

$147.15 billion

Rev. per Employee

$337,895

/zigman2/quotes/203901799/delayed

Add to watchlist UK:HSBA

HSBC Holdings PLC (UK Reg)

UK : U.K.: London

614.70 p

+11.30 +1.87%

Volume: 17.78M

Dec. 6, 2023 4:35p

P/E Ratio

5.48

Dividend Yield

3.87%

Market Cap

£116.67 billion

Rev. per Employee

£275,807

/zigman2/quotes/202285510/delayed

Add to watchlist UK:LLOY

Lloyds Banking Group PLC

UK : U.K.: London

45.81 p

+0.80 +1.77%

Volume: 110.59M

Dec. 6, 2023 4:35p

P/E Ratio

N/A

Dividend Yield

5.50%

Market Cap

£28.45 billion

Rev. per Employee

£411,295

/zigman2/quotes/200125072/delayed

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Standard Chartered PLC

UK : U.K.: London

663.40 p

+17.60 +2.73%

Volume: 3.29M

Dec. 6, 2023 4:35p

P/E Ratio

13.15

Dividend Yield

2.44%

Market Cap

£17.03 billion

Rev. per Employee

£352,275

/zigman2/quotes/209723049/delayed

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Crude Oil Continuous Contract

US : U.S.: Nymex

$ 69.81

+0.43 +0.62%

Volume: 20,370

Dec. 6, 2023 11:39p

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BP PLC

UK : U.K.: London

465.95 p

-5.95 -1.26%

Volume: 32.12M

Dec. 6, 2023 4:35p

P/E Ratio

3.99

Dividend Yield

4.73%

Market Cap

£79.48 billion

Rev. per Employee

£2.75M

/zigman2/quotes/207305210/composite

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BP PLC ADR

US : U.S.: NYSE

$ 34.85

-0.44 -1.25%

Volume: 8.90M

Dec. 6, 2023 4:00p

P/E Ratio

4.12

Dividend Yield

4.29%

Market Cap

$100.24 billion

Rev. per Employee

$3.36M

/zigman2/quotes/208070069/delayed

Add to watchlist UK:IAG

International Consolidated Airlines Group S.A.

UK : U.K.: London

161.90 p

+6.10 +3.92%

Volume: 18.93M

Dec. 6, 2023 4:35p

P/E Ratio

4.82

Dividend Yield

0.00%

Market Cap

£7.66 billion

Rev. per Employee

£359,402

/zigman2/quotes/210449062/delayed

Add to watchlist UK:WIZZ

Wizz Air Holdings PLC

UK : U.K.: London

2,023.00 p

+92.00 +4.76%

Volume: 260,132

Dec. 6, 2023 4:35p

P/E Ratio

13.57

Dividend Yield

N/A

Market Cap

£2.00 billion

Rev. per Employee

£558,912

/zigman2/quotes/210414141/delayed

Add to watchlist UK:CCL

Carnival PLC

UK : U.K.: London

1,236.00 p

+70.00 +6.00%

Volume: 785,913

Dec. 6, 2023 4:35p

P/E Ratio

N/A

Dividend Yield

0.00%

Market Cap

£16.36 billion

Rev. per Employee

N/A

/zigman2/quotes/202825892/delayed

Add to watchlist UK:EZJ

easyJet PLC

UK : U.K.: London

482.90 p

+14.20 +3.03%

Volume: 3.81M

Dec. 6, 2023 4:35p

P/E Ratio

11.40

Dividend Yield

0.00%

Market Cap

£3.54 billion

Rev. per Employee

£585,693

/zigman2/quotes/216303066/delayed

Add to watchlist UK:JET

Just Eat Takeaway.com N.V.

UK : U.K.: London

1,270.00 p

+52.00 +4.27%

Volume: 44,786

Dec. 6, 2023 4:35p

P/E Ratio

N/A

Dividend Yield

N/A

Market Cap

£2.70 billion

Rev. per Employee

N/A

/zigman2/quotes/209006722/delayed

Add to watchlist UK:FERG

Ferguson PLC

UK : U.K.: London

13,835.00 p

-30.00 -0.22%

Volume: 129,238

Dec. 6, 2023 4:35p

P/E Ratio

19.42

Dividend Yield

1.72%

Market Cap

£28.16 billion

Rev. per Employee

£702,322

/zigman2/quotes/202546598/composite

Add to watchlist FERG

Ferguson PLC

US : U.S.: NYSE

$ 174.68

+0.58 +0.33%

Volume: 1.48M

Dec. 6, 2023 4:00p

P/E Ratio

19.82

Dividend Yield

1.81%

Market Cap

$35.51 billion

Rev. per Employee

$849,543