Global recession fears weigh on UK stocks; Persimmon rallies

LONDON: Britain's FTSE 100 fell on Wednesday, logging its biggest one-day percentage drop in three weeks, as concerns of recession in the United States and overnight losses on Wall Street shrouded upbeat domestic earnings. The blue-chip index fell 0.3%, down for the third straight session, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 shed 0.4% as of 0829 GMT.

"We are right in the midst of earning season at the moment, and there has been a knock-on effect of reports from the U.S. affecting sentiment in the UK," said Christopher Peters, trading floor manager at Accendo Markets. Wall Street's major averages slumped on Tuesday, as a downbeat UPS forecast exacerbated investor concerns about a slowing U.S. economy, while plunging deposits at regional First Republic Bank added to jitters about the bank sector's health.

The FTSE 100 had a good run earlier this month, buoyed by strength in commodity stocks and defensives like pharmaceuticals. However, markets have taken to a wait-and-see mode as earnings kicked in, to assess the impact of monetary tightening on results. Persimmon Plc gained 5.1% after the house builder said it expects to build homes at the top end of its annual guidance range, lifting homebuilders up 1.8%.

"Not the best results in terms of completions previously, but the fact that they're showing signs of going forward has pushed the share price up," Peters added. Construction sector lost 3.4% dragged by a 4.1% fall in CRH as the building materials giant expects a U.S. profit boost but said the European market remains challenging.

Reckitt Benckiser lost 2.2% after naming company insider Kris Licht as its new CEO. Oil and gas stocks rose 0.6% as crude prices gained on reports of falling U.S. crude oil and fuel inventories.

Standard Chartered PLC reported its first-quarter pretax profit jumped 21%, beating expectations. However, the lender's shares were flat. Drax Group's shares rose 3.8% after the power generator announced a 150 million pound ($187 mln) share buyback programme.