UKX FTSE 100 Index

By Silvia Ascarelli, MarketWatch

BHP Billiton earnings details worry investors

The U.K.'s main stock index fell for the first time in four sessions, dragged down by losses for heavyweight miner BHP Billiton.

How markets are performing

The FTSE 100 ended down 0.3% at 7,565.70 after spending much of the session bobbing between positive and negative territory. The index is down 1.6% so far this year.

The pound was buying $1.2865, up from $1.2795 late Monday in New York.

The index bucked the broader gain in Europe (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/european-markets-flat-but-bhp-falls-after-results-2018-08-21) and the U.S, where the S&P 500 was pushing closer to record levels (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/stock-futures-flat-as-sp-nasdaq-eye-records-investors-look-for-fed-clarity-2018-08-21). Investors digested a slew of earnings from retail companies and are turning their focus to Wednesday's release of minutes from the Federal Reserve's last meeting. On Friday, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell will give a speech at the Fed's annual summer retreat in Jackson Hole.

Meanwhile, the dollar was sagging (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dollars-losing-streak-stretches-to-five-after-trump-complaints-about-fed-2018-08-21) after multiple reports that President Donald Trump had criticized the Fed's monetary policy, expressing particular disappointment in Powell, who he had appointed to the top central-banking job.

Read:Here's how the Jackson Hole gathering may influence the dollar, bonds and emerging markets (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/heres-how-the-jackson-hole-gathering-may-influence-the-dollar-bonds-and-emerging-markets-2018-08-20)

Stocks in focus

BHP Billiton(BLT.LN) (BHP.AU) earnings came in short of expectations, and the higher dividend couldn't compensate for that (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/bhp-posts-higher-profit-and-dividend-2018-08-21). The stock dropped 2.1%.

"Investors don't consider the dividend hike to be a permanent fixture and there were several other points of concern, such as rising costs at key copper, oil and coal units and the slashing of productivity savings target in half," said Jasper Lawler, head of research at London Capital Group, in a note.

As a result, analysts may downgrade forecasts for the 2019 fiscal year, he said.

Shares of Polymetal(POLY.LN), another miner, climbed 2% on the heels of its earnings (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/polymetal-hikes-dividend-as-net-profit-rises-46-2018-08-21).

Persimmon(PSN.LN), the U.K.'s second-largest home builder, shed 0.2% despite what David Madden, a market analyst at CMC Markets, called "respectable first-half figures." The company reported a 13% rise in pretax profit for the first six months of the year (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/persimmon-profit-up-on-rising-sales-margins-2018-08-21), outpacing a 5% rise is sales.

Wm. Morrison(MRW.LN) led gains in supermarket stocks, rising 1.6%. Its market share over the 12 weeks to Aug. 12 was unchanged, while other leading supermarkets lost market share to Aldi and Lidl, and its sales grew the fastest among its three major rivals.

Sage Group(SGE.LN) gained 1.6% a day after shares in the enterprise-software maker tumbled 7% (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/london-markets-higher-buoyed-by-materials-stocks-trade-optimism-2018-08-20).

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 21, 2018 12:15 ET (16:15 GMT)

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