U.K. stocks edged lower on Tuesday after a survey showed U.K. factory output fell at the fastest pace in seven months in July, hit by higher interest rates.
Separate data from the British Retail Consortium revealed that British retail sales fell in July at the fastest rate since April 2022.
The Bank of England meets on Thursday and economists expect the central bank to raise rates by a quarter-point to 5.25 percent.
The benchmark FTSE 100 was down 14 points, or 0.2 percent, at 7,685 after finishing marginally higher the previous day.
JD Sports Fashion fell 2.8 percent after an investigation by the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) confirmed that JD Sports and Leicester City Football Club broke competition law.
Lender HSBC Holdings added 1.5 percent after raising its key performance target.
Energy giant BP Plc rose 1.5 percent after raising dividend.
Silver miner Fresnillo plunged 6.6 percent after retailing its 2023 forecast.
Pizza group Domino’s jumped 7.5 percent on share buyback news.
Market Analysis
FTSE 100 Declines On Weak Data
2023-08-01 09:26:12
