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* Shell tumbles after $22 bln asset value writedown
* UK economy shrank by most in 40 years in early 2020
* PM Johnson promises $6.15 bln of infrastructure investment
* Homebuilder Redrow tumbles on glum sales forecast
* FTSE 100 down 0.9%, FTSE down 0.5%
(Updates to close, adds comments, background)
By Shreyashi Sanyal
June 30 (Reuters) - London's FTSE 100 fell on Tuesday after
data showing Britain's economy shrank by the most since 1979 in
the first three months of the year took the shine off one of the
strongest quarters for UK stocks since the global financial
crisis.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 .FTSE closed 0.9% lower, weighed
down by a 4% decline in Royal Dutch Shell Plc RDSa.L after it
said it planned to write down the value of its assets by up to
$22 billion on a lower outlook for oil and gas prices.
Gross domestic product dropped by a quarterly 2.2% between
January and March, while Prime Minister Boris Johnson in a
speech on Tuesday, promised to fast-track 5 billion pounds
($6.15 billion) of infrastructure investment to steer the
economy out of the downturn. "In the current climate the UK economy can do with all the
help it can get, but the sum of money in question is very small
in the grand scheme of things," said David Madden, market
analyst at CMC Markets UK.
The mid-cap FTSE 250 .FTMC eased 0.5%, with energy
.FTNMX0530 firms leading declines.
The FTSE 100 ended the quarter 8.8% higher, its biggest such
gain since 2010, as a raft of global stimulus and a pickup in
business activity after the easing of coronavirus-driven
lockdowns bolstered optimism about a post-pandemic economic
recovery.
However, there were still concerns as the city of Leicester
went back into lockdown following a local flare-up of the virus.
"After a quarter which has seen the best performance for
global equities in more than a decade... the next few months
could prove a lot more complicated," said Russ Mould, investment
director at AJ Bell investment.
Homebuilder Redrow RDW.L slipped 6.8% after saying it
expected its turnover to drop more than a third this year.