The FTSE 100 index continued its sell-off on Wednesday after data showed that underlying inflation remained high, building a case for more interest rate hikes by the Bank of England (BoE), while Marshalls fell on lower half-year profit.
The exporter-heavy FTSE 100 index fell 0.2% by 0704 GMT, languishing at over one-month lows as the sterling rose 0.14% to $1.2718, right after the data.
Annual consumer price inflation cooled to 6.8% in July from June’s 7.9%, as the BoE and a Reuters poll of economists had predicted.
However, core inflation came in at a hotter-than-expected 6.9% in July, while service rose to 7.4% from 7.2% in June.
FTSE 100 opens lower as stronger pound weighs; M&S lifts midcaps
Industrial metal miners shed 1.1%, leading sectoral losses, after data showed top metals consumer China’s new home prices fell for the first time this year in July, adding to a string of downbeat data from Beijing.
Mid-cap stocks also declined 0.2%.
Marshalls shares fell 1.1%, after the firm reported a 26% slump in half-year profit.
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