Nov 18 (Reuters) – London stocks fell on Tuesday with financials extending losses, while global markets remained wary as fading hopes of a Federal Reserve interest rate cut left investors cautious ahead of key economic data.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 (.FTSE) closed 1.3% lower in a widespread sell-off, losing for the fourth consecutive session and marking its worst performance since April 9, when markets worldwide were rattled by U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff announcements.
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The mid-cap FTSE 250 (.FTMC) declined 1.2%, falling for a fifth consecutive day.
Banking shares (.FTNMX301010) led the downturn for a second straight day, falling 2.8% as Barclays (BARC.L), HSBC (HSBA.L), and Standard Chartered (STAN.L) dropped between 2.2% and 3.4%, weighing heavily on the FTSE 100.
Industrial miners (.FTNMX551020) also faced pressure, with Anglo American (AAL.L) leading declines at 2.6%, while Rio Tinto (RIO.L) and Glencore (GLEN.L) fell 2% and 2.6%, respectively, as copper prices fell for a third straight session.
Travel and leisure stocks (.FTNMX405010) shed 1.5%, mirroring weakness across European counterparts amid escalating geopolitical tensions between China and Japan.
Global markets’ sentiment was dominated by concerns over elevated tech valuations and increasing scepticism about a potential Fed rate cut in December. Investors are now focused on upcoming U.S. economic data releases, and AI bellwether Nvidia’s (NVDA.O) earnings on Wednesday.
Also on Wednesday, traders in Britain will closely monitor the country’s inflation report.
Among individual movers, online supermarket and technology group Ocado’s (OCDO.L) shares slumped 17.4% to the lowest since 2013, after U.S. partner Kroger said it would close three automated warehouses in January.
Bucking the trend, cigarette maker Imperial Brands (IMB.L) rose 2.4% after reporting annual profit that exceeded analyst expectations.
Asset manager Intermediate Capital Group (ICGIN.L) rose 4.5% following news Europe’s largest asset manager Amundi (AMUN.PA) would acquire a 9.9% stake in the company.
Convenience food producer Greencore (GNC.L) jumped 6.3% after reporting full-year adjusted operating profit of 125.7 million pounds ($165.37 million), up from 97.5 million pounds the previous year.
($1 = 0.7601 pounds)
Reporting by Utkarsh Tushar Hathi; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri and Chris Reese
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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