The UK’s FTSE 100 on Monday extended losses from last week as precious metal miners tracked gold prices lower, while investors looked ahead to the start of the earnings reporting period and a slew of economic datasets this week.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 fell 0.2% by 0812 GMT, while the midcap index FTSE 250 edged 0.1% higher.
Precious metal miners led the losses among sectors, falling 1.6% to a near three-month low, as gold prices slipped on fading expectations of an early rate cut in the U.S.
The index fell close to 9% last week.
Shell slipped 1.6% as it flagged impairment charges of about $2.5 billion to $4.5 billion for the fourth quarter, mainly related to the Singapore refining and chemicals hub the oil major is looking to sell.
CMC Markets soared 20% after the online trading platform raised its full-year operating income forecast on Monday, citing a strong third quarter driven by improved market conditions.
In economic data, U.S. inflation data on Thursday and the UK’s November GDP data on Friday will be on investors’ radar amid quarterly reports from some of the biggest retailers and homebuilders from Britain.
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