London stocks tread lower on global rate cut jitters (updated)

Renishaw

03/04/2024 09:29

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        * 
      FTSE 100 down 0.6%, FTSE 250 off 0.4%
    

        * 
      Renishaw drops after Siemens quells buyout speculation
    

        * 
      Topps Tiles falls on bleak outlook, weak H1 volumes
    

  
 (Updated at 0812 GMT)
    By Pranav Kashyap and Khushi Singh
       April 3 (Reuters) - British stocks moved lower on
Wednesday, mirroring a global market retreat as investors
weighed chances of a more cautious approach to interest rate
reductions. 
    By 8:12 GMT, the internationally-exposed FTSE 100  .FTSE 
had fallen 0.6%, and was set for its biggest one-day percentage
drop in a month. The more UK-centric FTSE 250  .FTMC  was off
0.4%.
    Wall Street shares fell on Tuesday as a recent pull back in
rate cut bets weighed on investor sentiment. 
        "When the U.S. catches a bit of a cold, that it has done
in the last couple of days, the rest of the world sort of gets
pneumonia and there's very few places to hide," Ben Laidler,
global markets strategist at eToro said.
    Later in the day, a speech from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome
Powell will be closely scrutinized for clues on his stance on
interest rates landscape, while jobs data from the world's
largest economy will also be on investor's radar through the
week.
    Euro zone inflation data for the month of March is due 0900
GMT.
    "UK investors are looking at European data as a prelude for
what we may see in the UK later in the year," eToro's Laidler
said. 
    Meanwhile, industry data showed British supermarket total
sales rose year-over-year in the four weeks to March 23 as
slowing inflation encouraged shoppers to increase purchases.
    In corporate updates, shares in Topps Tiles  TPT.L  dropped
3% after the tile retailer flagged subdued demand in the
domestic repair and maintenance sector in 2024, with lower
volumes impacting its half-year profit.
    Renishaw  RSW.L  fell 4.1% after Germany's Siemens
 SIEGn.DE  said it does not intend to make an offer for the
engineering company.
    
    

 (Reporting by Pranav Kashyap, Khushi Singh in Bengaluru;
Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)
 ((Pranav.Kashyap@thomsonreuters.com;))
 
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