LONDON: London stocks fell on Friday, with IAG among the biggest drags, capping a volatile week dominated by a flurry of corporate earnings and the Bank of England’s interest rate decision.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index finished 0.6 percent lower for the day, recording 0.4 percent losses for the week.
Similarly, the midcap index lost 0.6 percent on Friday, culminating in a 1.9 percent weekly decline.
Travel and leisure stocks declined 3.1 percent, with IAG tumbling 11.6 percent and marking its steepest single-day fall since 2021, after the British Airways owner flagged weakness in the US market.
Rightmove shares plunged 12.5 percent to their lowest since late 2023 as Britain’s biggest property portal warned of slower profit growth next year. The broader real estate sector lost 1 percent.
Heavyweight banks added to the market’s woes, shedding 1.2 percent. HSBC and Barclays fell about 1 percent each.
On the bright side, ITV jumped 16.6 percent as the broadcaster said it is in preliminary talks with Comcast-owned pay-TV company Sky over a 1.6 billion pound (USD2.15 billion) sale of its television business.
Earlier this week, the Bank of England kept its main lending rate steady at 4 percent.
The British pound, which had been trading at multi-month lows, gained some ground following the central bank’s decision, rising 0.2 percent on Friday and positioning for modest weekly gains.
However, major brokerages including Morgan Stanley and Citigroup expect the central bank to deliver a rate cut in its December meeting.
Despite the week’s setback, the FTSE 100 remains among Europe’s top-performing indexes.
Global equities ran into turbulence this week as concerns over valuations of technology stocks and dimming chances of a Federal Reserve interest rate cut in December hit sentiment.
Back in the UK, the Times reported that Finance Minister Rachel Reeves has told the country’s budget watchdog that a rise in personal taxation is among the “major measures” she is preparing to announce in her November 26 budget.
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