© Reuters. Signage for the London Stock Exchange Group is seen outside of offices in Canary Wharf in London, Britain, August 3, 2023. REUTERS/Toby Melville/file photo
(Reuters) – UK shares kicked off the week on a somber note, weighed down by losses in base metal miners, while traders refrained from placing big bets ahead of a key U.S. inflation print.
The blue-chip was down 0.1%, as of 0816 GMT, pulled down by a 1.6% drop in industrial metal miners as iron ore prices extended their declines. [IRONORE/]
Market focus for this week is on the U.S. consumer prices reading and domestic labour market data, both due on Tuesday and will guide interest rate expectations from the central banks.
In some relief to the Bank of England (BoE), a survey showed Britain’s labour market slowed sharply in February as recruitment firms reported the biggest drop in demand for staff from employers since early 2021.
Money markets are currently pricing in about 67 basis points of interest rate cuts from the BoE this year. [0#BOEWATCH]
The mid-cap slipped 0.2%, led by a 11.1% slump in Currys (LON:) after U.S. investor Elliott Advisors said it does not intend to make an offer for the electricals retailer.
Marks & Spencer’s added 2.2% after RBC Capital Markets upgraded the retailer to “outperform” from “sector perform.”
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