In London on Wednesday the equities markets took a tumble after Tuesday‘s gains, with the FTSE 100 dropping 1.6 percent to 5,587.1 and the FTSE 250 dropping 1.95 percent to 9,054. Much of the declines on the 100 were put to losses in the oil and mining sectors.
Among blue-chip miners, Kazakhmys lost 5.7 percent to £10.20 and Antofagasta was down 3.7 percent to £19.95. Mid-cap miners did better, with Vedanta adding 1.8 percent to £13.13, while Lonmin was up 0.45 percent to £24.52.
In the oil sector, a drop in the price of crude oil sent Cairn Energy down 4.7 percent to £20.83.
The online gaming sector provided the biggest loser on the 100 on concerns that a Judiciary Committee vote in the United States on a bill that would outlaw online gambling could send the legislation to a full vote in the House of Representatives as early as June 11. The prospect sent shares in PartyGaming down 6.5 percent to 112¾p. The news that two of PartyGaming’s founders are resigning from the board and could sell much of their 39 percents take in the company also figured in the day’s loss.
British Airways was down 0.9 percent on the day to 335p on reports that bird flu might have spread person-to-person in Indonesia.
Only six stocks on the 100 closed the day with gains. Scottish Power added 1.9 percent to 553½p on a full-year report that exceeded expectations. Another of the day’s gainers was pubs operator Mitchells & Butlers, which was up 2.45 percent to 481¼p on a rumor that Robert Tchenguiz, who recently walked away from a bid for the company, was planning on purchasing a substantial block of M&B’s stock during the day as a move toward another attempt to buy the company. By law he cannot make another bid until November, but due to a recent rules change he can legally build his stake before that time.