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* BP drops despite surge in quarterly profit
* Aveva slides as CEO Craig Hayman quits
* HSBC shares rise after results, lifts banks index
* FTSE 100 down 0.3%, FTSE 250 off 0.6%
(Updates to market close)
By Medha Singh and Devik Jain
April 27 (Reuters) - London's FTSE 100 dropped on Tuesday,
as export-heavy companies took a hit from a perky pound,
overshadowing a rise in bank shares following HSBC's quarterly
profit beat.
The blue-chip index shed 0.3%, with industrial
software company Aveva Group's 5.4% slump leading
declines on the index after its Chief Executive Officer Craig
Hayman said he was stepping down.
The pharmaceutical and biotechnology index
dropped 2.3%, the most among sectors, while international
companies that take a hit to their profits from a rise in local
currency dropped, with British American Tobacco,
Unilever, Reckitt Benckiser down marginally.
However, losses were limited by HSBC Holdings' 4%
jump after it beat quarterly profit forecasts and released $400
million it had set aside to cover bad loans caused by the
pandemic.
The broader banks index added about 2.4%.
The fall in London stocks was in line with its European
peers, as investors looked to cues from the U.S. Federal Reserve
on bond purchases and inflation while awaiting earnings from
mega-cap U.S. technology companies this week.
"We're now in a very busy week for companies updating on
earnings and trading in the UK and U.S., which means investors
are likely to be rearranging their portfolios in reaction to the
news," said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
"This could result in heightened trading volumes and mean
markets are principally driven this week by company fundamentals
rather than politics and macroeconomics."
The FTSE 100 has gained about 7.5% year-to-date on optimism
that speedy COVID-19 vaccinations and constant government policy
support would drive a stronger economic recovery.
However, concerns over the resurgence of COVID-19 cases in
parts of Asia and prospects of rising inflation as economies
reopen have dented sentiment.
The domestically focussed mid-cap FTSE 250 index
slipped 0.6%.
Oil major BP Plc's first-quarter profit more than
tripled from a year earlier and the company said it intended to
resume share buybacks in the third quarter. Its shares, however,
slipped 0.4%.
Its peer Royal Dutch Shell also fell ahead of its
results on April 29.
(Reporting by Medha Singh and Devik Jain in Bengaluru; Editing
by Peter Graff)
