UK shares fall again as weak results add to global growth worries

By Muvija M and Shashwat Awasthi

(Reuters) - UK shares slipped on Wednesday as fresh worries about global economic growth weighed on oil stocks while a stronger pound also pulled down multinational stocks, with Metro Bank losing over a third of its value after missing profit forecasts.

The FTSE 100 <.FTSE> fell by 0.9 percent as sterling climbed to a 10-week high, effectively bringing down the value of the U.S. revenues of blue-chip exporters. Sterling's rise followed news that Britain's Labour Party will back an attempt by lawmakers to prevent a disorderly no-deal Brexit.

Though the more domestically exposed mid-cap index <.FTMC> tends to be buoyed by a stronger pound, the index shed 0.5 percent as a string of weak trading updates dominated sentiment.

The declines put both UK indexes on course for their first weekly losses in 2019.

Oil majors BP <BP.L> and Shell <RDSa.L> tumbled as crude prices flirted with negative territory in choppy trading. [O/R]

Multinationals Reckitt Benckiser <RB.L>, British American Tobacco <BATS.L> and GlaxoSmithKline <GSK.L> also fell as the pound firmed.

Concern over a prolonged Sino-U.S trade dispute rose again after the Financial Times reported that the Trump administration had rejected an offer from China for talks ahead of high-level negotiations next week. White House adviser Larry Ludlow denied the report, but the damage to sentiment was done.

Further marring the mood were soft U.S. home sales data, a bigger than expected fall in Japanese exports in December and weak factory sales in Canada - pointing to tough trading conditions across the globe.

Luxury brand Burberry <BRBY.L>, meanwhile, erased early losses to add 2.9 percent despite weak Christmas sales data. Investors took comfort in what CMC Markets analyst David Madden called "a respectable performance" in mainland China.

High-end retailers across Europe have been hit by worries that the Sino-U.S. trade war could hit Chinese demand.

Uncertainties over Britain's exit from the European Union persisted. As the March 29 deadline approaches, hopes are growing that British lawmakers will prevent a no-deal departure though no sign of an agreement has yet emerged.

The EU's Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said that a no-deal Brexit was the default scenario and opposition from the House of Commons would not prevent it from happening.

Mid-cap Metro Bank <MTRO.L> tanked nearly 40 percent, knocking more than 800 million pounds off its market value, after it announced a sharp rise in exposure to higher-risk mortgages and said profits would be hit by slowing growth.

Sanne Group <SNNS.L>, which provides alternative asset and corporate administration services, tumbled more than 17 percent - its steepest intra-day fall on record - after announcing the departure of its chief executive and a trading update.

Computacenter <CCC.L>, however, jumped 10.6 percent after an upbeat trading update showing higher IT spending in Germany and the United Kingdom.

Europe's biggest plastics packaging maker RPC <RPC.L> rose 4.4 percent after Apollo Global agreed to buy the company for 3.3 billion pounds.

(Reporting by Muvija M and Shashwat Awasthi in Bengaluru; Editing by Mark Potter and David Goodman)