Reuters: Hot Stocks: X UK's FTSE has worst 1-day fall in nearly two months

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X UK's FTSE has worst 1-day fall in nearly two months Aug 15th 2013, 14:34 Thu Aug 15, 2013 10:34am EDT * FTSE has worst 1-day fall since June 20 * Strong retail sales could see interest rate rise * Prospect of rate rise hits equities * Property stocks suffer most, Persimmon falls 6 pct By Sudip Kar-Gupta LONDON, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Britain's main equity index had its worst intraday fall in nearly two months, as strong retail sales reignited the chance of an earlier-than-expected interest rate rise that could push traders back into bonds from equities. The benchmark FTSE 100 index was down by 1.8 percent, or 117.81 points, at 6,469.62 points in late session trade on Thursday. The index had its worst one-day decline since a 3 percent drop on June 20, and fell to its lowest level in over a month. The FTSE extended losses after data showed a greater-than-expected jump in UK retail sales, which traders said could herald interest rates being raised off their current record 0.5 percent lows sooner than expected. Bank of England governor Mark Carney has said rates will not rise before unemployment drops to 7 percent. However, Brown Shipley fund manager John Smith said the strong retail sales showed unemployment could fall to that level earlier than forecast, which in turn could lead to a quicker rise in interest rates. Higher rates could in turn draw back investors to bonds, away from equities, as returns on bonds would also increase. "The better the economic news, the more likely it is that interest rates will rise earlier than forecast. We could reach that 7 percent unemployment target well before Carney had forecast," Smith said. The prospect that interest rates will eventually have to come back up off those record lows hit property stocks the hardest, since the record low rates have buoyed consumer demand for loans to buy up houses. Housebuilder Persimmon was the worst-performing FTSE 100 stock, falling 6.2 percent, while mid-cap FTSE 250 housebuilder Barratt Development slumped 7.3 percent. The FTSE 100 has fallen back over the last three months from a 13-year high of 6,875.62 points reached in May, although the index remains up by around 10 percent since the start of 2013. Despite Thursday's fall, several traders felt the FTSE could get back to those May highs towards the end of 2013, and backed using days when the market fell to buy up stocks on the cheap. "In the short term I would continue to run with the overall trend, and buy on dips," said MB Capital trading director Marcus Bullus. (Additional reporting by David Brett; Editing by Alison Williams) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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