UK stock prices set to drop by a week's end as earnings-driven losses weigh
UK stocks fell on Friday with IAG as the main drag. They were also set to record losses for a week that was packed with earnings, as well as a Bank of England rate decision.
As of 1125 GMT the blue-chip FTSE 100 fell 0.8%, while midcaps lost 0.5%.
IAG, the British Airways-owned company that owns travel and leisure stocks, fell 8.4%.
Rightmove, Britain's largest property portal, warned that profit growth would be slower next year. The real estate industry as a whole lost 1.20%.
Heavyweight banks shed 0.7%. HSBC, Barclays and other heavyweight banks fell by about 1%.
ITV's shares rose 13.9% after the broadcaster announced that it was in preliminary discussions with Comcast owned pay-TV Sky about a sale of its Media and Entertainment division for 1.6 billion pounds ($2.15 billion).
The pound is headed to a third consecutive weekly decline. The Bank of England held its main lending rate at 4% earlier this week.
Morgan Stanley, Citigroup and other major brokerages expect that the central bank will cut rates at its meeting in December.
Despite its weekly losses, the FTSE 100 remains one of the most successful indexes in Europe. The global equities market was in turmoil this week due to concerns about the valuation of technology stocks, and dimming prospects of a Federal Reserve rate cut for December.
The Times reported in the UK that Rachel Reeves, UK Finance Minister, told the country's Budget Watchdog that she was preparing to announce a hike in personal taxes in her budget on November 26. (Reporting from Utkarsh Tushr Hathi in Bengaluru and Shashwat Chanhan; editing by Maju Samuel).
(source: Reuters)