UK shares fell on Thursday as a jump in government bond yields and tensions in the Middle East kept investors risk-averse, while Rentokil Initial dropped on flagging weaker demand. The commodity-focused FTSE 100 was down 0.9% at of 0712 GMT, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 slipped 0.7%.
US Treasury yields jumped to 16-year highs ahead of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech in New York, scheduled for 1600 GMT, which could offer more clues on the interest rate trajectory.
Rentokil Initial tumbled over 13% to the bottom of FTSE 100 after the pest control firm warned about softer annual demand in North America.
The heavyweight oil and gas sectoral index was down 0.2%, tracking oil prices lower, while industrial metal mining stocks lost 0.2% as copper prices slipped on a stronger dollar.
UK stocks slip as miners drag; US economic data on tap
Industrial support services led sectoral declines, down 3.3%, while the non-life insurers index led gains, up 0.3%.
Hargreaves Lansdown reported a slowdown in new client growth for the first quarter amid flailing investor confidence.
The investment platform’s shares were down 4.4%.
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