LONDON: UK stocks were lower on Friday, with the FTSE 100 easing from a record high, as tariff uncertainty added to investor nerves after data showed weaker-than-expected US jobs growth.
The FTSE 100 lost 0.3%, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 slipped 0.8% and was set to end the week marginally higher.
The FTSE 100 was set to end the week 0.6% higher and closed at a record high on Thursday, lifted by upbeat corporate earnings and hopes for further rate cuts from the Bank of England after the central bank cut rates by 25 basis points. However, highlighting the challenges faced by the UK economy, policymakers halved their 2025 economic growth outlook while flagging that inflation would be nearly double the bank’s 2% target this year.
BoE Chief Economist Huw Pill said that recent strong pay growth was a reason for “caution” towards future interest rate cuts.
“Forecasts were hawkish – embedding, we think, a fair degree of inflation persistence, the messaging was dovish – centering on downside risks to growth and reaffirming that the MPC will look through the near-term spike in inflation,” Morgan Stanley analysts wrote.
“We see a further cut in May and Bank Rate at 3.5% by year-end.”
Meanwhile, Wall Street’s indexes dropped after data showed the US economy generated fewer jobs than expected in January, while a Reuters report stating that President Donald Trump might impose reciprocal tariffs added to worries.
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