UK stocks slip as banks drag; earnings in focus

Rentokil Initial

Today 11:43

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Oct 22 (Reuters) - London’s FTSE 100 slipped to its lowest level in a week, dragged down by sharp declines in heavyweight banks, as rising oil prices dampened risk appetite, while investors digested a batch of corporate earnings.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index .FTSE fell 0.5% to 10,699.33 points by 1006 GMT, while the midcap FTSE 250 .FTMC slipped 0.9%. The latter was set for its biggest one-day slide since October 1.
Oil prices jumped more than 3% to their highest levels since May, with Brent crude futures LCOc1 trading at over $112 a barrel. Energy .FTNMX601010 stocks were the biggest gainers O/R
Banks .FTNMX301010 were the biggest drags, trading close to their June lows. Barclays BARC.L dipped marginally after missing estimates for third-quarter profit and announcing plans to cut about 5,000 jobs
Precious metal miners .FTNMX551030 and industrial metal miners .FTNMX551020 were the biggest percentage decliners, down over 3% each as gold and copper prices slipped over 1% each MET/L GOL/
Elevated oil prices have been fanning inflation concerns, forcing major central banks to raise interest rates
Data showed on Wednesday British inflation rose more than expected last month, cementing the case for a hike from the Bank of England in November, which is largely priced in
Corporate earnings will remain on investors' radar for clues on the impact from geopolitical uncertainty and higher borrowing costs in some economies 
Pest control firm Rentokil Initial RTO.L topped the FTSE 100 with a 8.2% 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 3.7% lower
Crowne Plaza owner IHG IHG.L slipped 3.1% 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


 (Reporting by Darshan Kumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid)
 ((darshan.kumar@thomsonreuters.com))