BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - U.K. stocks fell on Thursday as miners fell and investors digested a raft of corporate news, including British Gas owner Centrica's warning on revenues.
The benchmark FTSE 100 was down 45 points or 0.62 percent at 7,183 in opening deals after rising 0.7 percent on Wednesday.
Centrica slumped as much as 10 percent after a warning that the U.K. government's cap on energy prices would hit its financial performance in 2019.
Likewise, defense giant BAE Systems slumped 6.4 percent. The company said a German ban on Saudi arms sales could hurt its financial performance.
Glencore dropped 1.7 percent and BHP fell 1.3 percent as London copper prices eased from seven-month high amid dollar strength.
Recruitment group Hays lost nearly 7 percent on fears of a slowdown in its key German market.
On the positive side, lender Barclays rallied 3.2 percent as it swung back to profit in 2018.
Public services provider Serco jumped 5.7 percent as it hiked sales guidance for 2019.
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