* FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 both down 0.3%
* Financials and dollar earners drag on main index
* Kier slumps after report of plan to sell housebuilding
unit
* Recruiter SThree gains on strong international hiring
* Housebuilders hit by no-deal Brexit worries
(Adds company news, closing prices)
By Shashwat Awasthi and Muvija M
June 14 (Reuters) - London's FTSE 100 weakened on Friday as
Asia-focused banks took a hit from underwhelming Chinese
industrial growth data, while Kier shed more than a third of its
value after it was reported to be planning to sell its
housebuilding unit at a discount.
The FTSE 100 .FTSE slipped by 0.3%, with exporter stocks
also weighing on the index. The FTSE 250 .FTMC fell by the
same amount, tugged lower by Kier's 35.5% plunge.
Banks with exposure to Asia, pressured this week amid
protests in Hong Kong against a Chinese extradition bill,
slipped after China's industrial output growth slowed to a more
than 17-year low.
HSBC HSBA.L and Prudential PRU.L were among the biggest
drags on the blue-chip index as the data again underlined the
knock-on effects of China's protracted trade dispute with the
United States. Builder Kier KIE.L , shares in which lost more than a third
of their value last week after a profit warning, sank to a
record low after a Times report said the
company was preparing to sell its housebuilding business at a
discount to cut debt. Kier's market value, which stood at 212.1 million pounds
($267.4 million) at the close, has shrunk to less than a half of
what it was at the end of May.
"Trader are petrified that Kier will turn into an Interserve
or even a Carillion, and any sign of weakness spooks investors,"
said CMC Markets analyst David Madden.
The housebuilding sector .FTNMX3720 slipped 1.2% on its
worst day in a month as fears of a chaotic no-deal Brexit had
jumped after Brexiteer Boris Johnson moved closer to becoming
the next prime minister.
A no-deal departure from the European Union has become more
likelu over the past month, according to economists in a Reuters
poll, with most candidates in line to replace Theresa May as
prime minister taking a hard-line stance. Gold, generally viewed as a safer asset in times of
geopolitical and economic turmoil, was in demand as worries over
a slowdown in global economic growth dominated, helping miner
Fresnillo FRES.L to a 3.4% gain.
Oil major Shell RDSa.L was another bright spot on the main
index as crude prices rose for a second day after attacks on two
oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman stoked worries about crude flows
through a key international shipping route. O/R
Utilities, considered to be defensive stocks, were also
among the few gainers.
Small-cap recruiter SThree STHR.L , which hires workers for
financial, energy, banking and pharmaceutical companies, gained
3% as its net fees rose on strength in its international
markets. = 0.7933 pounds)