Real estate leads UK stocks fall after Jefferies downgrade; Ithaca shines (updated)
27/09/2023 10:10
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Real estate stocks tumble after Jefferies downgrade
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Ithaca Energy gains on UK nod to Rosebank field
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FTSE 100 down 0.4%, FTSE 250 sheds 0.6%
(Updated at 1615 GMT)
By Siddarth S and Johann M Cherian
Sept 27 (Reuters) -
London stocks closed down on Wednesday with real estate
stocks hitting over a month's low after Jefferies said the
capital city's office market was in "rental recession" and
Ithaca Energy gained on a UK nod for the Rosebank oil and gas
field.
Land Securities LAND.L , British Land BLND.L , Derwent
London DLN.L and Great Portland Estates GPEG.L fell between
3.4% and 4.3% after the brokerage downgraded all the stocks.
London's embattled office market is in rental recession
as volumes of empty space across the capital's West End, City
and Canary Wharf business districts hit a 30-year high,
Jefferies analysts said.
The broader real estate index .FTNMX351020 fell 2.8%
and is set for a 3.6% loss this quarter as the roll-out of
flexible working policies for corporate employees has partly
dented demand for huge office rental spaces.
More broadly, the large-cap FTSE 100 .FTSE closed 0.4%
down despite a 1.3% gain in heavyweight oil stocks
.FTNMX601010 . The firms gained as crude prices got a lift on
supply concerns. O/R
Midcap stocks ended 0.6% lower, overshadowing a 8.8%
surge in Ithaca Energy ITH.L after Britain gave the green
light for one of its biggest new oil and gas projects in years
despite opposition from environmentalists.
"It's been a good day for UK oil and gas small cap
Ithaca Energy after the UK government approved the development
of the Rosebank oil field in Shetland," said Michael Hewson,
chief market analyst at CMC Markets.
"The approval... should help to improve the energy
security of the UK."
Among small-cap shares, Alfa Financial Software
ALFAAL.L added 13.8% after the asset finance software firm
confirmed it was in preliminary talks for an offer from U.S.
private equity firm Thomas H. Lee Partners.
Glencore Plc GLEN.L added 0.4%. The miner said it will
stop funding the loss-making Koniambo Nickel SAS (KNS) business
it co-owns in New Caledonia at the end of February.
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British property company shares tumble in 2024 https://tmsnrt.rs/3Lzgnkz
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(Reporting by Siddarth S and Johann M Cherian in Bengaluru;
editing by Eileen Soreng and Ed Osmond)
((Siddarth.s@thomsonreuters.com;))
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