U.K. stocks fell on Thursday amid growth worries after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warned the ongoing public health crisis continues to weigh on economic activity, employment, and inflation, and poses considerable risks to the economic outlook.
The benchmark FTSE 100 was down 116 points, or 1.8 percent, at 6,451 after closing 1.3 percent lower the previous day.
Diageo rallied 3.6 percent after the world’s largest spirits maker reported a surprise rise in underlying net sales growth in the first half of the year and said it expects to see improvement in sales and profit in the second half of its fiscal year.
Gambling company Rank Group dropped 1.4 percent after it swung to a loss for the first half of fiscal 2021.
Mining giant Rio Tinto lost 2 percent after unveiling a new executive team.
Information technology company AVEVA Group declined 1.6 percent. The company announced that its Secretary and Finance Director David Ward would step down from his current position.
EasyJet was moving down 1.8 percent. The budget airline said it was hoping for surge in passenger numbers later this year if Covid restrictions ease.
Energy major BP Plc tumbled 3.3 percent after announcing a strategic partnership with Australian airline Qantas.
FTSE 100 Falls On Growth Concerns
2021-01-28 09:34:35
