Recruitment agencies had nearly £300m wiped off their value after Robert Walters issued a profit warning over delays in hiring.
In an unscheduled update, it said net fee income fell 9 percent in April and May compared to the same two months a year ago, and earnings for 2023 will be “significantly lower than expected.”
Analysts had expected a profit of around £43 million. Shares, which fell nearly a quarter this year, fell 13.7 percent, or 64 pence, to 402 pence.
It sparked an industry-wide sell-off, with PageGroup falling 6.2 percent, or 27.2 pence, to 415 pence, while Hays fell 6.3 percent, or 6.9 pence, to 102.1 pence, and SThree 5.7 percent. , or 22.5 pence, lost to 372.5 pence. P.
Victoria Scholar, head of investment at Interactive Investor, said: “Many companies are cutting staff or cutting jobs to counter macroeconomic uncertainty weighing on hiring.”
Robert Walters said net fee income in April and May was down 9% compared to last year, and earnings for 2023 will be “significantly lower than expected”
Monthly GDP data showing the UK economy grew by 0.2 percent in April – recovering from a 0.3 percent decline in March – sparked little excitement in stock markets.
Spending in bars and pubs contributed to the recovery, but Britain faces a ‘Catch-22 situation’ according to Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell.
That’s because while growth is welcome, rising demand needs to be cooled to curb inflation.
The FTSE 100 rose 0.1 percent, or 7.96 points, to 7602.74, while the FTSE 250 fell 0.1 percent, or 13 points, to 19,175.50.
Miners enjoyed another positive session following higher metal prices. Antofagasta added 3.5 percent or 52.5 pence to 1560 pence, Anglo American increased 4 percent or 99.5 pence to 2582.5 pence, Glencore gained 2.3 percent or 10.35 pence to 470.35 pence and Rio Tinto rose 2.6 percent, or 135 pence, to 5338p.
Aston Martin bounced back after Jefferies declared the luxury car maker to be in “M&A territory” after China’s Geely doubled its stake to 17 percent last month.
Jefferies raised its underperform rating from hold to hold and its price target from 160 pence to 300 pence. Shares gained another 7.1 percent, or 19.8 pence, to 298.6 pence.
Asia-focused insurer Prudential also benefited from an upgrade from Jefferies, raising its price target from 1900 pence to 2020 pence. It climbed 1.8 percent, or 20.5p, to 1136p.
The results of Severfield, the engineering and steel group helping to build Everton’s football stadium, scored after sales and profits rose by more than a fifth in the year to March 25. It rose 10.5 percent, or 6.4 pence, to 67.6 pence.
But advertising group M&C Saatchi said trading has remained difficult since January and warned revenues for 2023 will be slightly lower than a year earlier. Shares fell 8.4 percent, or 14.5 pence, to 159 pence.
Marks Electrical posted record sales as consumers bought energy-efficient items to save money on bills.
The online white goods retailer’s turnover shot up 21.5 per cent to £97.8 million for the year to the end of March.
Sales grew 30 percent in April and May, with a “very strong start to June.” The stock rose 2.8 percent, or 2.5 pence, to 93.5 pence.
Self-storage company Safestore, which owns 185 UK stores, saw sales rise 9 percent to £110.1 million in the six months to the end of April, but profits fell 63.7 percent to £103 million. Shares fell 1.9 percent, or 18 pence, to 913.5 pence.
Shares in Ladbrokes owner Entain fell 8.7 per cent, or 115p, to 1206.5p after the gambling giant raised £600m from investors to buy Poland’s largest gambling operator STS in a £750m takeover, using its joint venture venture with the Czech investment company EMMA Capital.
A sharp fall in the price of second-hand electric cars hit dealer Motorpoint, which crashed to a loss of £300,000 for the year to the end of March compared to a profit of £21.5m the year before – despite an 8% increase in sales .9 per cent to £1.4 billion. It fell 4 percent, or 5 pence, to 120 pence.
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