London close: Stocks fall one per cent on earnings, taper fears

- Perform plummets after profit warning- Sports Direct and Wood Group fall sharply after results- Taper bets increase ahead of Fed meeting, US data in focus- FTSE 100 at lowest level since mid-OctobertechMARK 2,652.61 -0.83%FTSE 100 6,445.25 -0.96%FTSE 250 15,211.54 -1.20%The FTSE 100 finished one per cent lower on Thursday as disappointing corporate updates and increased bets about a tapering of stimulus in the States prompted investors to scale back risk appetite.Sharp falls from Sports Direct and Wood Group, along with a profit warning from Perform Group, helped to dampen sentiment in London today, with the UK's benchmark index closing at its lowest level in over two months.The Footsie ended 62.47 points down at 6,445.25 after a weak start on Wall Street this afternoon. London's benchmark index has not closed below its current level since October 10th when it finished at 6,430.49.Nevertheless, analysts at Capital Economics see the FTSE 100 outperforming over the next few years due to a weaker pound and a cyclical rebound in profits, following its underperformance in 2013. In fact, they see the index hitting 7,500 by 2015, whereas the S&P 500 will "struggle from here" reaching just 1,850 by that time.A budget deal in Washington signed on Tuesday night was met with a mixed reaction on markets yesterday. While the agreement looks to ease spending cuts over the next two years and reduces the potential for political brinkmanship, many believe that it removes yet another obstacle standing in the way of the Fed's decision to taper following the strong labour-market figures out last week."In a rather dramatic shift in sentiment, market participants are starting to see that the possibility of the Federal Reserve tapering stimulus at next Wednesday's Federal Open Market Committee meeting is gaining in credibility," said Max Cohen, Financial Sales Trader at Spreadex. Perform plummets; Sports Direct and Wood Group under pressureSports media group Perform plummeted after warning that its 2013 full-year revenue will be below previous expectations, pushing earnings "significantly" below forecasts. The warning, which also revealed results for 2014 are now set to miss expectations, more than halved the value of the company's stock by the close.Sportswear and equipment retailer Sport Direct slumped despite delivering a near-17% jump in underlying profits during its first half, as it cautioned that "[current] trading has now reverted to management's original expectations" following the outperformance in the first half. The company also revealed that long-running Finance Director Bob Mellors, who was appointed in 2004, is to retire at the end of December on health grounds.Energy services firm Wood Group disappointed after saying that trading remaining mixed across its three main divisions. While it reiterated guidance for overall growth in 2013 and 2014, it said its engineering division would see a 15% drop in operating profits next year. Sector peers AMEC and Petrofac fell in sympathy.After a heavy fall early on, fashion retailer SuperGroup erased losses as a strong first-half report came alongside the warning that comparatives for the third quarter "are more challenging than those experienced so far this year".Mining stocks were under the weather as investors scaled back risk appetite and as metal prices declined across the board. Fresnillo, Vedanta, Randgold and African Barrick Gold all finished with heavy losses.Imagination Technologies was extending losses today after a sharp fall the day before as it gave a gloomy outlook for the high-end smartphone market in its fiscal second half.Utilities stocks were performing relatively well amid the wider market weakness, helped by positive comments from analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co and Standard & Poor's on UK regulation. United Utilities, National Grid, Pennon, Centrica and Severn Trent were all in demand.FTSE 100 - RisersUnited Utilities Group (UU.) 655.50p +1.71%TUI Travel (TT.) 379.40p +0.66%National Grid (NG.) 750.00p +0.54%Croda International (CRDA) 2,276.00p +0.35%Sage Group (SGE) 373.40p +0.35%AstraZeneca (AZN) 3,458.00p +0.32%Severn Trent (SVT) 1,674.00p +0.30%International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 370.00p +0.27%Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,293.50p +0.23%Centrica (CNA) 325.10p +0.18%FTSE 100 - FallersSports Direct International (SPD) 674.00p -12.58%Fresnillo (FRES) 716.00p -5.23%Amec (AMEC) 1,049.00p -4.98%Vedanta Resources (VED) 779.50p -4.00%Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 1,142.00p -3.95%Mondi (MNDI) 904.50p -3.88%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 3,896.00p -3.83%Aberdeen Asset Management (ADN) 447.40p -3.78%Persimmon (PSN) 1,136.00p -3.15%Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 1,634.00p -3.14%FTSE 250 - RisersAL Noor Hospitals Group (ANH) 966.00p +7.93%CSR (CSR) 580.00p +5.65%NMC Health (NMC) 435.00p +5.05%Ted Baker (TED) 2,241.00p +3.80%Kenmare Resources (KMR) 19.67p +3.53%Dialight (DIA) 851.00p +3.53%Bwin.party Digital Entertainment (BPTY) 117.10p +2.18%Ocado Group (OCDO) 409.80p +1.86%AZ Electronic Materials SA (DI) (AZEM) 390.00p +1.69%Xaar (XAR) 1,162.00p +1.57%FTSE 250 - FallersPerform Group (PER) 180.00p -57.85%Imagination Technologies Group (IMG) 169.50p -10.79%Wood Group (John) (WG.) 718.00p -9.91%African Barrick Gold (ABG) 157.80p -4.94%Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 1,647.00p -4.02%Halfords Group (HFD) 447.50p -3.76%Hunting (HTG) 760.50p -3.67%Computacenter (CCC) 651.00p -3.48%Evraz (EVR) 98.10p -3.35%Laird (LRD) 252.60p -3.07%BC