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* FTSE 100 down 0.1%, FTSE 250 off 0.2%
May 6 (Reuters) - UK stocks slipped on Wednesday as another
round of gloomy quarterly earnings reports underlined the
business damage from the COVID-19 pandemic, with investors also
wary of growing U.S-China tensions over the origin of the
coronavirus.
ITV ITV.L , Britain's biggest free-to-air commercial
broadcaster, fell 0.8% after saying ad revenue plunged 42% in
April and that it could not issue a forecast for the rest of the
year. The FTSE 100 .FTSE fell 0.1%, with oil majors BP Plc
BP.L and Royal Dutch Shell Plc RDSa.L tracking a slide in
oil prices. The domestically focussed midcap index .FTMC
dipped 0.2%. O/R
The blue-chip FTSE 100 kicked off May on a dour note last
week following a strong rebound in April, as investors feared
the halt in business activity due to sweeping lockdown measures
had pushed the global economy into a deep recession.
Medical products maker Smith+Nephew SN.L said sales in
April nearly halved as more patients delayed elective surgeries
such as hip replacements. Its shares rose 0.2% in early trading.
On the bright side, a 1.7% gain for AstraZeneca Plc AZN.L
boosted the healthcare index .FTNMX4570 as the drugmaker won
U.S. approval for its treatment to reduce the risk of
cardiovascular death and hospitalisation for heart failure in
certain patients.