FTSE 100 edges lower as financials drag; ECB meeting in focus By Khushi Singh and Pranav Kashyap (Reuters) -UK’s FTSE 100 edged lower on Thursday as a sell-off in financials weighed, while investors moved their focus from hotter-than-expected U.S. inflation data to the European Central Bank’s interest rate decision later in the day. The internationally-exposed […]
FTSE 100 edges lower as financials drag; ECB meeting in focus
By Khushi Singh and Pranav Kashyap
(Reuters) -UK’s FTSE 100 edged lower on Thursday as a sell-off in financials weighed, while investors moved their focus from hotter-than-expected U.S. inflation data to the European Central Bank’s interest rate decision later in the day.
The internationally-exposed FTSE 100 index slipped 0.1% as of 0823 GMT. The more domestic-oriented FTSE 250 was flat.
Insurer Aviva slipped 5.5% to the bottom of FTSE 100, trading ex-dividend. The broader life insurance index fell 2.0%, leading sectoral declines.
Lloyds Banking Group also lost 3.7% as the lender traded ex-dividend, weighing the banks index down by 1.0%.
On the other hand, the chemicals index rose 1.3% to lead sectoral gains, while oil and gas shares gained 0.8% on the back of higher crude prices amid escalations in the Middle East crisis. [O/R]
Markets expect the European Central Bank ( ECB ) to maintain borrowing costs in its monetary policy decision at 1215 GMT, though it could signal an interest rate cut as soon as June, fueled by a recent downturn in Eurozone inflation.
“Given the weakness that we are seeing in European economies, which is also the case in the UK, the ECB should give us a pointer that perhaps we will see a June rate cut,” said Axel Rudolph, senior market analyst at online trading platform IG.
In corporate updates, Darktrace surged 7.2% after the cybersecurity company raised its annual revenue and margin forecasts for the third time this year.
Lok’NStore jumped 18.0% after rival Shurgard agreed to acquire the self-storage company in a deal valued at 378 million pounds ($474 million).
AstraZeneca gained 1.2%, lifting the overall pharma sector by 0.7% after the drugmaker said it intends to increase annual dividend for 2024, betting on strong performance and cash generation.
(Reporting by Pranav Kashyap in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Varun H K)
