LONDON -- After a few good days of rises, the FTSE 100
But a few individual downturns hit the FTSE indices today, partly driven by falling sentiment in the construction sector. We look at three early fallers.
Halfords
Halfords Group
Still, any downgrade for a falling stock is usually met with selling-off, and coming after other City forecasts had been downgraded, the fears of an unsustainable dividend added to Halfords' woes. The shares are now down more than 40% over the past 12 months.
The fall puts the forecasted dividend on a yield of 9.5% now, so there's room for it to be cut but still leave a decent payout.
Carillion
A trading update from construction services company Carillion
The firm reiterated its belief that first-half revenues will be lower than in the same period last year but told us that trading is still in line with expectations and that it is on track to achieve full-year profit estimates.
But the statement did say that market conditions remain "challenging," which is usually good for a few pennies off the price, and fears of a U.K. construction slowdown have helped send the shares down 30% over the past year.
Interior Services
Interior Services Group
Similarly to Carillion, the firm told us that trading for the year has been in line with expectations released in January, but that margins in the U.K. have been hit by competition.
Current City forecasts suggest a dividend yield of more than 10%, but whether that is achievable or sustainable is something we shall have to wait to see.
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