UK’s FTSE 100 falls as banks, miners drag; Barclays slides on job cuts
Oct 22 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 fell on Thursday, pressured by banks and mining stocks as investors weighed more corporate results against a backdrop of elevated oil prices and persistent inflation concerns.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index .FTSE ended down 0.5% at 10,699.33 points, briefly touching a one-week low during the session. The midcap FTSE 250 .FTMC slipped 0.9%, its steepest one-day slide since October 1.
Barclays BARC.L fell 2.3% after missing estimates for third-quarter profit and announcing plans to cut about 5,000 jobs
Banks .FTNMX301010 were the biggest drag, with the index hitting its lowest since June
Miners also weighed on the market. The FTSE 350 precious metal miners .FTNMX551030 was down 5.2% as spot gold fell 2.2%, with Anglo American AAL.L down 5.5%, Antofagasta ANTO.L off 6.5% and Rio Tinto RIO.L 3.4% lower
Industrial metal miners .FTNMX551020 dropped nearly 4% each as copper prices slipped MET/L GOL/
Oil prices jumped to their highest levels since May, with Brent crude futures trading at over $111 a barrel. Energy .FTNMX601010 stocks were the biggest gainers O/R
Elevated oil prices have been fanning inflation concerns, forcing major central banks to raise interest rates
Some defensive heavyweights helped limit the benchmark's decline. AstraZeneca AZN.L rose 2.5%, while GSK GSK.L gained 2.6% and Unilever ULVR.L added 3.1%
Corporate earnings remained in focus as investors looked for clues on how geopolitical uncertainty and higher borrowing costs are affecting companies
Pest control firm Rentokil Initial RTO.L topped the FTSE 100 with an 8.6% rise after reporting higher third-quarter organic revenue growth and a $200 million buyback plan
Second-quarter sales growth slowed at Britain's second-largest supermarket group Sainsbury's SBRY.L, sending its shares 2.1% lower
Crowne Plaza owner IHG IHG.L slipped 2.7% as rising interest rates and the impact of the Iran conflict overshadowed its quarterly room revenue beat
London Stock Exchange Group LSEG.L gained 4.3% after raising its 2026 revenue outlook and agreeing to acquire financial data firm Octus for about $3.54 billion