UK stocks decline before Bank of England rate decision

Informa

Today 10:33

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FTSE 100 down 0.9%, FTMC down 0.6%
Tesco falls on weak Q1 sales growth
Intertek up after agreeing EQT takeover
BoE rate decision at 12:00 GMT

    June 18 (Reuters) - Britain's main stock indexes fell on Thursday, pressured by financials and materials as investors awaited the Bank of England's rate decision and assessed the Federal Reserve's hawkish policy outlook.
The BoE is widely expected to hold rates at 3.75% later this morning, after the U.S. Federal Reserve kept rates unchanged on Wednesday. However, nine Fed policymakers expect a rate hike this year as inflation concerns continue to weigh on consumers.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index .FTSE fell 0.94% to 10,410.01 points by 10:16 GMT, while the midcap FTSE 250 .FTMC slipped 0.63%.
Among financials, London Stock Exchange LSEG.L fell 3.5% after Rothschild Redburn downgraded the stock to "neutral", while investment firm 3i Group III.L declined 4.3%.
Precious metal miners .FTNMX551030 led sectoral losses, falling 5%, with Fresnillo  FRES.L and Hocschild Mining HOCM.L down 5.8% and 7%, respectively.
UK's biggest food retailer Tesco TSCO.L slipped 2.2% after reporting a slowdown in first-quarter sales growth. 
Rate-sensitive homebuilders .FTNMX402020 shed 2.6%, with Persimmon PSN.L falling 6.4%, the worst performer on the benchmark.
Intertek ITRK.L gained 1.5% after the testing and certification firm agreed to a takeover by Swedish private equity firm EQT EQTAB.ST

        The world's largest exhibition group Informa INF.L was the top performer on FTSE 100, rising 2.3% after forecasting stronger growth in 2027.
Oil giants BP BP.L and Shell SHEL.L declined 1.5% each, as oil prices reached to their lowest since start of Iran war. O/R
     

 (Reporting by Utkarsh Hathi in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid)
 ((utkarshtushar.hathi@thomsonreuters.com))