* Surprise drop in China's retail sales hits global stocks
* GVC tumbles on saying long-time CEO to depart
* UK faces brewing unemployment crisis- Analyst
* Recruiter Hays, miner Anglo American slide on downbeat
results
(Updates to close)
By Shashank Nayar and Ambar Warrick
July 16 (Reuters) - The FTSE 100 slipped from three-week
highs on Thursday as apprehension over the local job market and
a drop in China's retail sales chipped away at hopes for a swift
economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 was down 0.7% and the mid-cap
FTSE 250 was 0.6% lower.
Data showed Chinese retail sales were down 1.8% last month
despite a pickup in second-quarter economic growth, pointing to
a weakened consumer story in the world's second largest
economy.
Ladbrokes owner GVC Holdings was among the worst
performers on the FTSE 100 after it said long-time Chief
Executive Kenny Alexander was retiring.
Recruiter Hays slipped 1.3% as it warned of lower
annual profits amid a slump in fee income. While data showed
some improvement in the British job market last month, analysts
posited a grim outlook due to the pandemic.
"Nearly all of Hays’ territories have seen net fee income
drop in the order of 30% bar the US, which is a little better,
and the UK and Ireland, which are markedly worse," Russ Mould,
investment director at AJ Bell wrote in a note to clients.
"This is not an encouraging portent for a brewing
unemployment crisis in Britain – even if there were some
modestly more encouraging signs in the latest jobs data."
In other earnings news, Anglo American shed 1.2%
after posting an 18% decline in overall second-quarter output.
Global miner Rio Tinto traded flat ahead of its
quarterly production results on Friday.
Power generator SSE Plc bucked the trend, closing
more than 2% higher after it said it will maintain its dividend
schedule despite the coronavirus.
A raft of global stimulus moves helped the FTSE 100 rally
about 27% from its March lows, but it is still down about 17% on
the year and has trailed its European and Wall Street peers as
economic data points to a slower-than-expected rebound from the
pandemic
(Reporting by Shashank Nayar in Bengaluru
Additional reporting by Sagarika Jaisinghani
Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Frances Kerry)
