By Shashwat Chauhan and Shristi Achar A
(Reuters) – London stocks edged lower on Monday as defence firms lost ground after an aborted mutiny by mercenaries in Russia, though further losses were kept in check by gains in commodity-linked stocks.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 ended 0.1% lower, paring losses after hitting a three-month low earlier in the session.
The more domestically-focussed FTSE 250 midcap index fell 0.5%, touching a three-month low.
Britain’s biggest defence company, BAE Systems, fell 2.1% while the aerospace and defence sector as a whole fell 1.3% on news that the mutiny had ended.
“Defence stocks tend to benefit from bad news in terms of geopolitical tensions,” said Christopher Peters, trading floor manager at Accendo Markets.
Commodity-linked sectors checked losses after copper and oil prices gained, as some investors shrugged off uncertainties from the failed mutiny. [MET/L] [O/R]
Base metal miners and oil stocks added 1.0% each.
The exporter-heavy FTSE 100 is on track to post quarterly losses after two straight quarters of gains, as surging domestic inflation and continued interest rate hikes by the Bank of England pressured equities.
“Investors are still reeling after that very strong inflation print that we had out of the UK last week,” Giles Coghlan, chief market analyst at HYCM, said.
“The broad sentiment around the world is that the soft landing narrative is becoming far less likely.”
Meanwhile, a Reuters poll suggested that The Bank of England will raise borrowing costs 50 basis points higher than was thought only two weeks ago, in two quarter-point moves.
Vodafone led losses on the index, down 3.6% to hit a 26-year low after a report British lawmakers had raised concerns over its merger with CK Hutchison’s British operations.
Cineworld Group tanked 17.9% after the cinema chain operator said it will file for administration as part of a proposed restructuring plan.
Aston Martin jumped 10.8% after the luxury carmaker entered into a strategic supply agreement with U.S.-based Lucid Group to make electric vehicles.
(Reporting by Shashwat Chauhan and Shristi Achar A in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Andrew Heavens)
