Oct 21 (Reuters) – Britain’s FTSE 100 was little changed on Wednesday as hotter-than-expected inflation reinforced bets on the Bank of England (BoE) increasing interest rates, overshadowing gains in oil majors that tracked firmer crude prices.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index fell 0.1% to 10,723.02 points by 1022 GMT, after two sessions of declines in a row. The midcap FTSE 250 was muted at 0.02%.
• UK inflation rose to 3.5% in September, above economists’ expectations of 3.4%, as the US-Israel war on Iran pushed up energy prices
• Money markets are pricing in a 98.8% probability of a 25-basis-point BoE rate hike in November, according to LSEG data
• “We’re likely to see both haulage and agriculture hit hard — sectors that get food and goods to our doors, and a sustained rise here could cause a really nasty second-round shock,” Nick Saunders, CEO of online investment platform Webull UK, said
• Finance minister John Healey came under pressure ahead of next week’s budget after official data showed government borrowing beat forecasts for a second straight month, pushing public debt above £3 trillion ($4.01 trillion)
• Energy stocks gained 1.1%, as oil prices rose 1.2% as escalating Middle East tensions fuelled fears of supply disruptions [O/R]
• Oil-linked stocks gained, with BP and Shell among the biggest boosts to the FTSE 100 as crude prices climbed
• Asset manager Aberdeen Group, among top losers on the FTSE 100, fell 3.5% after flagging a slower-than-expected return to adviser-segment inflows
• Midcaps: bicycles-to-car parts retailer Halfords dropped about 9%, the steepest on the FTSE 250, after first-half results
(Reporting by Darshan Kumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Joyjeet Das)
