London’s FTSE 100 has slipped lower this morning after experiencing falls from some of the index’s largest companies.
Both oil giants BP and Shell tumbled as much as 2% as the markets began to adjust for further slips in oil prices, with Brent crude down close to 1% today.
British American Tobacco saw its shares lift marginally despite cutting its first-half forecast due to US macroeconomic pressures and the rise of illicit vape products globally. However, shareholders were left impressed after the group maintained full-year guidance, citing market share gains in the tobacco sector and a recovery in vaping as two key driving forces.
In macro news, UK retail sales rebounded in May, with sales surging by 0.7% year-on-year, representing a marked improvement from the 0.3% average of the last three months. Yet, figures are still behind the 12-month average of 2%, something analysts believe is the effect of wet weather and an uptick in mortgage interest rates.