UK shares opened lower on Wednesday, hurt by a slide in life insurers, while investors await comments from Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell for more clues on the trajectory of interest rates.
The benchmark FTSE 100 fell 0.2%, while the midcap index FTSE 250 slipped 0.4%.
The life insurance sector dropped 1.7%, set to log its worst day in three weeks.
Marks & Spencer jumped 8.8% after it reported a much better-than-expected 75% rise in first-half profit but cautioned high borrowing costs and erratic weather may soon weigh on shoppers.
Still, the results lifted retailers by 1.4%, to the top of the charts.
FTSE 100 falls on energy drag, but logs weekly gains
Investors will closely monitor comments from Bailey later in the day at an Irish central bank conference as well as from Powell, starting from 9:15 a.m. ET (1415 GMT), for clues on where rates are headed.
Meanwhile, an industry survey showed that the decline in hiring by British employers eased slightly in October, but pay growth slowed and rising redundancies led to an increase in the number of job-seekers.
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