London stocks fall as major earnings roll in; Persimmon jumps

Britain’s FTSE 100 slipped for a third straight day as losses in construction materials offset gains in energy stocks, while shares of Persimmon (LON:PSN) rose to the top of the index on upbeat forecast.

The blue-chip index edged down 0.1%, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 shed 0.2%, as of 0715 GMT.

Persimmon Plc gained 3.4% after the house builder said it expects to build homes at the top end of its annual guidance range.

Construction sector lost 2.3%, dragged by a 2.8% fall in CRH (LON:CRH) as the building materials giant expects U.S. profit boost but says Europe remains challenging.

Oil and gas stocks however rose 0.7% as crude prices gained on reports of falling U.S. crude oil and fuel inventories. [O/R]

GSK added 0.7% after the drugmaker beat expectations for its first-quarter revenue and profit, helped by sales of its blockbuster shingles vaccine Shingrix.

Standard Chartered (LON:STAN) PLC (StanChart) edged up 0.3% after the lender’s first-quarter pretax profit jumped 21%, beating expectations.

Reckitt Benckiser lost 1.1% on naming company insider Kris Licht as its new CEO.