Market Report: Ashtead falls after disappointing results for its US rival United Rentals

Ashtead is one of the most heavily shorted stocks on the FTSE 100

Short-sellers of Ashtead were sitting pretty after disappointing results for its US rival United Rentals sparked a spree of panic selling. Shares in the equipment rentals firm dropped by 75p, or 8 per cent, to 890p, its worst one-day fall in more than three years, as United missed Wall Street analysts’ fourth-quarter estimates.

Ashtead’s house broker Jefferies rushed to soothe concerns, insisting that it was less reliant on revenues from the struggling US energy sector than United. Jefferies’ view was echoed by brokers HSBC and Stifel – but with little effect.

Ashtead is one of the most heavily shorted stocks on the FTSE 100, with 7.5 per cent of its shares out on loan to investors betting on the price falling. That is up from 5.2 per cent a month ago, when the stock was worth 21 per cent more, meaning short-sellers have profited from its decline.

Bruised by Apple’s weaker outlook on Wednesday, shares in computer chip maker Arm Holdings retreated by another 42p to 953.5p after its shareholders cast their eyes across the pond. Profits at Arm’s US rival Qualcomm crashed by 24 per cent in the first quarter, sparking concerns that slowing sales of the iPhone will hit suppliers such as Arm.

The FTSE 100 was unable to maintain its winning streak, falling 58.59 points to 5,931.78 after the US Federal Reserve decided, as expected, to keep interest rates unchanged but said it was keeping a close eye on the global economy.

With the oil and metals prices stable, miners and energy firms topped the blue-chip chart. The dead-cat bounce continued for beleaguered Anglo American, which jumped by 22.15p, or 9 per cent, to 275.9p as it revealed it kept up the pace of mining last year despite heavy falls in commodities prices .

Shares in Flybe, which fell by 4.5p to 80p, were knocked off course by third-quarter results that showed November’s terror attacks in Paris put people off flying. The regional airline said its load factor – how full its planes are – fell to 68.9 per cent in the last three months of 2015 from 74.3 per cent the year before. This meant that it made £46.61 in revenue per seat compared with a figure of £49.65 in 2014.