By Pranav Kashyap and Sruthi Shankar
(Reuters) -Britain’s FTSE 100 fell on Tuesday, as a plunge in commodity prices knocked heavyweight oil and mining stocks lower, while a mixed labour market data put the Bank of England on track to cut interest rates next month.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 closed 0.5% lower, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 index slipped 0.1%.
The FTSE 350 energy index lost 3.5%, the biggest sectoral loser, as crude prices slid nearly 5% due to a weaker demand outlook and after a media report suggested Israel would not strike Iranian oil targets, easing fears of a supply disruption. [O/R]
Industrial metal miners shed 3.1% as copper prices hit a three-week low, pressured by confusion about the scale of stimulus measures in top metals consumer China. [MET/L]
Investors also focused on data that showed British pay grew at its slowest pace in more than two years in the three months to August but unemployment rate fell to 4.0%, the lowest reading this year.
Markets continued to show around an 80% chance of a quarter-point UK interest rate cut on Nov. 7.
“We think the reliability issues with the Labour Force Survey (LFS) mean the Bank of England (BoE) will not place much weight on the bounce in employment, but it suggests that a gradual approach to easing is warranted,” said Modupe Adegbembo, economist at Jefferies.
Data due on Wednesday is expected to show Britain’s consumer prices index fell to 1.9% in September, below the BoE’s 2% target, although core inflation is likely to be stronger, according to the economists polled by Reuters.
Traders overall see 37 bps more in rate cuts by the end of this year.
Among single stocks, Bellway jumped 8.3% after the homebuilder said it expects to build more homes in the 2025 financial year, buoyed by prospects of further reductions in borrowing costs.
The FTSE 30 homebuilders index rose 3.1% to lead sectoral gains.
British Airways-owner IAG and EasyJet rose 4.1% and 3.1%, respectively, as a slump in oil prices eased concerns about fuel costs.
Paragon Banking Group lost about 4% after Jefferies downgraded the stock to “hold” from “buy”.
(Reporting by Pranav Kashyap and Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Shashwat Chauhan; Editing by Sonia Cheema and Ros Russell)
