By Atul Prakash
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's top share index fell slightly on Tuesday, with Standard Chartered (L:STAN) and BP (L:BP) leading the broader market lower after their results failed to impress investors.
Standard Chartered dropped 6.2 percent, the top faller in the blue-chip FTSE 100 (FTSE), after the bank reported a decline in its income in the third quarter from the same period a year ago and warned about fresh compliance troubles ahead.
And oil major BP (L:BP) dropped after reporting a fall in third-quarter earnings. Its underlying replacement cost profit, BP's definition of net income, fell to $933 million from $1.8 billion a year earlier. BP shares were down 3.7 percent.
"This is the ninth consecutive quarter of decline in BP's earnings, and it is hard to see the end of the tunnel given the challenging dynamics in the oil market," said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, analyst at London Capital Group.
In contrast, shares in Royal Dutch Shell (L:RDSa) rose 3.7 percent, the top FTSE 100 gainer, after reporting an 18 percent rise in underlying net profit for the third quarter, beating forecasts.
The FTSE 100 index was last down 0.2 percent after gaining in the previous month. The index is up more than 11 percent so far this year. Britain's mid-cap FTSE 250 index (FTMC) also fell and was quoted 0.2 percent lower.
Weir Group (L:WEIR) fell 4.5 percent after the pipe and valve maker said it expected its full-year 2016 profit to be slightly lower than expectations due to weaker downstream oil and gas markets and tougher conditions in the Middle East.
On the positive side, business information group Informa (L:INF) climbed to a record high after Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) raised its target price for the stock saying the company’s organic profile was improving. Its shares were up 3.3 percent.
Among mid-caps, price comparison site Moneysupermarket.com (L:MONY) rose 7.8 percent after saying that growth in sales of insurance helped third-quarter revenue for the group to rise 12 percent, giving it confidence in its outcome for the year.
UBS analysts, who said that the company's market share gains in the insurance area was the most noteworthy in the results, were positive on the company.
"Management continues to be confident of meeting its full-year expectations," UBS said in a note. "Management's reluctance to upgrade its outlook perhaps points to a step-up in costs to achieve the strong revenue growth."