UK’s FTSE 100 snapped a six-day winning streak to end lower on Thursday, hurt by weak data from China and mining stocks trading ex-dividend, while hawkish remarks from Bank of England’s Chief Economist Huw Pill weighed on the sentiment.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index fell 0.5% but the midcap index logged 0.2% gains. Both the indexes marked their worst month since May.
Leading the losses, precious metal miners fell 2.3%. Gold miner Endeavour slipped 2.5% as the stock traded ex-dividend.
Miners, homebuilders boost FTSE 100 to 2-weeks high
Industrial metal miners were down 0.7%, tracking lower copper prices after data showed China’s manufacturing activity contracted for the fifth straight month in August.
“The China story is not a cleaned theme to the extent that the slower the data gets the more expectations build for a policy response,” said Michael Metcalfe, head of macro strategy at State Street Global Markets.
Weighing further, Glencore dropped 2.5% after a media report said dozens of asset managers accused the miner of lying in past share prospectuses to cover up corrupt activities. Its shares were also trading ex-dividend.
Retailers climbed 0.9%, as it was confirmed on Wednesday that Marks & Spencer will rejoin Britain’s FTSE 100 after a four-year hiatus. The stock was up 1.2%.
Online fashion seller Boohoo jumped 7.5% on British sportswear group Frasers raising its stake in the company, a regulatory filing showed.
British cyber-security company Darktrace added 2.6% after Jefferies raised its price target.
Financial trader CMC Markets was the bottom-performer on the mid-cap index, falling 7.7% after Jefferies cuts to “underperform” from “hold”.
Meanwhile, BoE’s Pill said the central bank will “see the job through” on bringing high inflation back down to its 2% target even if there is a risk that high interest rates hurt Britain’s economy.
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