- Shell drops; flags Q4 writedown on Singapore assets
- Plus500, CMC Markets up on results beat
- Energy shares biggest drag
- FTSE 100 down 0.2%, FTSE 250 adds 0.3%
Jan 8 (Reuters) - The UK's FTSE 100 on Monday extended losses from last week as energy shares tracked oil prices lower, while investors looked ahead to the start of the earnings reporting period and a slew of economic datasets this week.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 fell 0.2% after it started the year on a grim note last week.
Heavyweight oil and gas shares led losses among sectors, dropping 1.5% to a three-week low after oil prices fell more than 1% on sharp price cuts by top exporter Saudi Arabia and a rise in OPEC output.
UK stocks finished the first week of 2024 lower, with FTSE 100 falling by the most since November and the FTSE 250 by the most since early October, as markets scaled back on early rate cut bets.
Goldman Sachs expects the FTSE 100 to rise to 7,900 over the next 12 months, representing a roughly 3% upside for UK stocks from current levels.
Shell slipped 1.9% to the bottom of FTSE 100 as it flagged impairment charges of about $2.5 billion to $4.5 billion for the fourth quarter, mainly related to the Singapore refining and chemicals hub the oil major is looking to sell.
"Investors are focusing on the fact that Shell warned that profits from trading oil products and chemicals would be lower resulting in a loss in that division," Victoria Scholar, head of investment, interactive investor, said.
CMC Markets soared 23.6% to hit a four-month high after the online trading platform raised its full-year operating income forecast, while rival Plus500 rose 7%.
These stocks drove the midcap index FTSE 250 0.3% higher.
U.S. earnings season kicks off later this week with results from Wall Street heavyweights including JPMorgan and Bank of America, while UK's focus will be on updates from supermarkets like Marks and Spencer Group, Sainsbury's, and Tesco.
U.S. inflation and UK's GDP data will also be on investors' radar end of the week.
Reporting by Shubham Batra in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman and Mrigank Dhaniwala
Source: Reuters