LONDON: U.K. stocks slipped Wednesday, a day after the benchmark FTSE 100 hit an all-time high, with shares of engineering company Weir Group PLC sliding after a profit warning.
The FTSE 100 UKX, +0.02% was down 0.2% at 6,936.42. The move came after the benchmark on Tuesday finished 0.5% higher at 6,949.63, marking the best close since December 1999.
On Wednesday, Weir shares WEIR, -9.18% fell 6.1%, sinking to the bottom of the FTSE 100. The maker of equipment for use in the energy industry said it expects lower profit margins and revenue this year as commodity prices have dropped. Full-year profit tumbled to 73.1 million pounds ($113.4 million) from £334.9 million, hit by exceptional items.
“While visibility in oil and gas remains limited, it is clear that the group’s strategic progress and cost initiatives will only partly offset the impact of a substantial reduction in demand and the associated pricing pressure,” Weir Chief Executive Keith Cochrane said in a statement.
GKN PLC GKN, -2.70% was also among the session’s decliners, with shares falling 2.5%. On Tuesday, the shares were down 3.2% after the engineering company said full-year sales and pretax profit fell because of currency movements.
But topping the benchmark was St. James’s Place PLC STJ, +4.43% with shares up 5.4% after the wealth manager raised its final dividend by 50% to 14.37 pence. It also said funds under management in 2014 rose to £52 billion pounds, from £44.3 billion at the end of 2013.
Stock in Whitbread PLC WTB, +2.45% gained 2.2%, after owner of Costa Coffee and Premier Inn hotels forecast full-year results will come in around the top end of expectations.
