The FTSE 100 slipped eight points on Friday, weighed down by a cautious outlook statement from WPP (WPP).
Shares in the advertising agency, led by Sir Martin Sorrell (pictured) fell nearly 8% or £1.52 to £17.67 after the group posted record 2016 results but worried investors by cutting its sales forecasts and express concern for the outlook for the rest of the year.
‘While few were complaining about both profits and dividends increasing by over 20%, it wasn’t the headline numbers that were the problem. The group confirmed 2017 has got off to a weak start, and went on to provide a more downbeat outlook than analysts expected,’ said Nicholas Hyett, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.
The mood on markets was cautious as investors waited to hear speeches from several members of the Federal Reserve on their thoughts for the prospect for US interest rates.
The pound shed 0.15% to $1.2246 against the dollar after unexpectedly weak PMI (purchasing managers’ index) data for the dominant UK services sector slipped to a five-month low of 53.3 last month, from 54.5 in January.
The ‘mid cap’ FTSE 250 index receded 68 points or 0.4% to 18,882, led lower by Berendsen (BRSN), the commercial laundry operator, which dropped 11% after legacy operations continue to hurt the business.
Shawbrook Group (SHAW) shot up 18% or 49p to 316.5p after the challenger bank received a £825 million bid from private equity firm Pollen Street capital and BC partners.
Shareholders are being offered 330p cash per share and their final dividend from last year. Pollen Street holds 38.9% of the shares.