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* Reckitt drops to lowest since March 2020, misses estimates
* FirstGroup CEO plans to step down in September; shares
drop
* Moonpig sees slowing demand on store reopening
* FTSE 100 down 0.4%, FTSE 250 off 0.2%
(Updates to close)
By Shashank Nayar and Amal S
July 27 (Reuters) - London's FTSE 100 fell on Tuesday,
weighed by insurance and consumer staple stocks, with Lysol
maker Reckitt Benckiser adding to the pressure as it missed
quarterly sales estimates.
The FTSE 100 ended down 0.4%, with life insurers
and consumer staple stocks down
1.8% and 1.4% respectively.
Reckitt dropped 8.4%, marking its worst day since
February 2003, after missing sales growth estimates and warning
on margins as costs rise and easing lockdowns slow demand for
products such as Lysol disinfectants.
Other consumer staple stocks, including Imperial Brands
, British American Tobacco and Associated
British Foods, fell by between 0.1% and 1.1%.
"Investors are likely to be questioning the true defensive
characteristics of these consumer goods companies," said Danni
Hewson, financial analyst at AJ Bell.
"With consumers increasingly flocking to cheaper supermarket
own-label products, the idea that the big brand owners are
guaranteed sales success is no longer a given. Margin weakness
only adds to the bear case for Reckitt."
The FTSE 100 has recovered nearly 26% since its October
lows, when the country battled a deadly second wave of COVID-19
infections, amid support from dovish central bank policies.
However, the blue-chip index is still 12% away from its
record high and has significantly underperformed its European
and U.S. peers.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned Britons
should not get carried away by six days of better COVID-19
infection data, while one of the country's top epidemiologists
said the bulk of the pandemic could be behind Britain in just a
few months.
The mid-cap FTSE 250 index fell 0.2%.
Among other stocks, British online greeting card publisher
Moonpig tumbled 9.3% after it warned demand would slow
in its new financial year as shops reopened.
Daily Mirror publisher Reach Plc gained 6.7% after
it said it was trading ahead of expectations and that it expects
the strong momentum to continue.
British transport company FirstGroup fell 0.2% after
its Chief Executive Matthew Gregory said he planned to step down
in September, a day after the company's biggest shareholder
demanded his resignation.
(Reporting by Shashank Nayar and Amal S in Bengaluru Editing
by Amy Caren Daniel and Mark Potter)
