London - UK shares fell on Tuesday, with a rebound for the battered mining sector failing to offset an outlook cut from heating and plumbing supplier Wolseley and a gloomy ripple effect from a US health-care sell-off.
The FTSE 100 index was down 0.5 percent, in line with the broader pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index.
Miners were led higher by Glencore, up 9 percent after a bruising sell-off on Monday in which about a third of its market value was wiped out. Antofagasta rose 2 percent and the broader FTSE 350 mining index was up 2.2 percent.
However, with only one more trading day to go before the end of the third quarter, there looked little likelihood of a fundamental change in overall investor sentiment, in the midst of an emerging markets-driven commodities sell-off.
“It's a difficult environment for the market at the quarter-end... Institutional investors will be tidying their books up,” said Guy Foster, head of research at Brewin Dolphin. “It does seem like we are in a prolonged downturn for commodities.”
Wolseley shares were the worst performers in the FTSE 100, down 10.9 percent after the company lowered its outlook for revenue growth, saying it expected industrial markets in North America to remain challenging and saw little growth in a competitive British market.
Drugmaker Shire also underperformed, down 3.5 percent, with rivals AstraZeneca, Novartis and Roche all down as well as the ripple effects of a US biotechnology sell-off spread to Europe. The STOXX 600 Europe health-care index index was down 1.6 percent.
US Democratic lawmakers on Monday attacked “massive” price increases of two heart drugs from Canada's Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc, which tumbled 16.5 percent.
The Nasdaq biotechnology index fell 6 percent, adding to losses from last week when Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton criticised drug pricing.
REUTERS