LONDON (ShareCast) - UK stocks experienced some selling pressure on Friday morning after rising to their highest in two weeks, as renewed concerns about the spread of Ebola weighed on market sentiment.
The FTSE 100 was down 0.6% at 6,380 in early deals, after having closed Thursday's session at 6,419.15, its highest finish since 9 October.

A New York-based doctor who has recently been working in Guinea has become the fourth person in the US to have been diagnosed with Ebola. Craig Spencer reportedly came down with a fever on Thursday and has now been transferred to a hospital in Manhattan.

US stock futures were trading lower on Friday after a strong surge the previous day after earnings results from the likes Caterpillar, 3M and General Motors impressed the market, along with decent economic data. After the closing bell, Microsoft's shares jumped after sales and profits beat forecasts, but Amazon.com reported a worse-than-expected quarterly loss.

In other news, markets were also digesting the news that Chinese property prices fell at an annual rate of 1.3% in September, the first year-on-year decline in nearly two years. The data "will no doubt intensify calls for more stimulus to avoid a bubble bust and hard landing", said Mike van Dulken, head of research at Accendo Markets.

This side of the Pond, investors will be on the lookout for the preliminary estimate of third-quarter UK gross domestic product (GDP) growth, due out at 09:30. GDP growth is expected to have slowed to an annual rate of 0.7% in the July-September period, from 0.9% growth in the second quarter, according to consensus forecasts.

Ebola worries hit travel stocks

Airlines, travel and leisure stocks were in the red on the back of Ebola fears, with IAG, Easyjet, Intercontinental Hotels, TUI Travel, Carnival and Thomas Cook all registering losses.

Publishing and education group Pearson fell after revealing that its chief financial officer is to step down after 10 years of service. The Financial Times owner reiterated its profit guidance for the full year, but shares were under pressure early on.

Later on in the session, third-quarter numbers from pharmaceutical group Shire will no doubt be closely watched following the recent failed $54bn takeover by US rival Abbvie. The stock was lower in morning trade.

UK challenger bank TSB reported 32% higher third-quarter profits and said it was ahead of its long-term target in attracting customers switching from other banks, helping shares higher early on.

Pet shop chain Pets at Home was also in demand after saying first-half sales increased and it was on track to hit full-year forecasts. Total revenue rose 10.2% to £381.5m in the 28 week period ended 9 October.

Molten metal flow engineering firm Vesuvius disappointed investors with a gloomy outlook, saying it has seen a "softening in market conditions in certain regions" since the half-year stage.

Pharmaceuticals group Hikma dropped after revealed it had received a warning letter from the US Food and Drug Administration relating to its manufacturing facility in Portugal. The agency raised issues related to investigations and environmental monitoring at the facility.



Market Movers
techMARK 2,677.15 -0.46%
FTSE 100 6,380.41 -0.60%
FTSE 250 15,087.41 -0.32%

FTSE 100 - Risers
CRH (CRH) 1,387.00p +0.73%
British Sky Broadcasting Group (BSY) 865.50p +0.70%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 198.05p +0.61%
Sports Direct International (SPD) 633.00p +0.48%
Meggitt (MGGT) 446.10p +0.47%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 4,101.00p +0.47%
ITV (ITV) 200.30p +0.45%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 76.64p +0.41%
Prudential (PRU) 1,374.50p +0.26%
Dixons Carphone (DC.) 379.80p +0.21%

FTSE 100 - Fallers
Tesco (TSCO) 166.00p -2.92%
BT Group (BT.A) 366.00p -2.81%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 2,200.00p -2.65%
Anglo American (AAL) 1,317.00p -1.72%
Associated British Foods (ABF) 2,693.00p -1.68%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 4,262.00p -1.67%
Pearson (PSON) 1,152.00p -1.45%
Aggreko (AGK) 1,534.00p -1.35%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 234.00p -1.35%
BP (BP.) 433.25p -1.30%

FTSE 250 - Risers
Spectris (SXS) 1,706.00p +3.71%
Pets at Home Group (PETS) 177.70p +3.31%
Just Retirement Group (JRG) 130.90p +2.43%
Morgan Advanced Materials (MGAM) 294.10p +2.12%
Spire Healthcare Group (SPI) 274.00p +1.78%
Diploma (DPLM) 685.00p +1.71%
African Barrick Gold (ABG) 203.20p +1.60%
Domino Printing Sciences (DNO) 588.50p +1.47%
Essentra (ESNT) 669.50p +1.44%
SSP Group (SSPG) 235.80p +1.20%

FTSE 250 - Fallers
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 1,815.00p -4.47%
Brit (BRIT) 229.30p -3.82%
TalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) 282.60p -3.05%
Debenhams (DEB) 61.50p -3.00%
Foxtons Group (FOXT) 160.70p -2.61%
Euromoney Institutional Investor (ERM) 1,011.00p -2.13%
Fidessa Group (FDSA) 2,244.00p -2.09%
Cranswick (CWK) 1,284.00p -1.61%
Domino's Pizza Group (DOM) 592.50p -1.50%
Bank of Georgia Holdings (BGEO) 2,492.00p -1.50%

Email this article to a friend

or share it with one of these popular networks:

• DIGG
• FACEBOOK
• STUMBLEUPON
• MIXX
• YAHOO BUZZ
• DELICIOUS
• REDDIT
• NEWSVINE