London's FTSE 100 lose steam as consumer-focused stocks drag

By Sanchayaita Roy and Pranav Kashyap

(Reuters) - London's benchmark index fell on Thursday, dragged down by consumer staples such as Unilever and British American Tobacco, while a stronger pound weighed on export-oriented stocks.

The FTSE 100 lost 0.7% by 1116 GMT and was headed for its worst day in nearly two weeks. The index hit record highs consecutively in the last three sessions.

The midcap FTSE 250 was flat.

Heavyweight Unilever lost 7.2%, on track for its worst session in over three years after the Ben & Jerry's maker gave a dour outlook. It plans to list its ice cream business in Amsterdam, with London and New York as secondary listings.

British American Tobacco slipped 8.1%, on track to post their biggest daily decline since March 2020, after the company took a 6.2 billion pound ($7.74 billion) hit from a Canadian lawsuit.

Barclays lost 5.9% after hitting its highest level since March 2011 on Wednesday. The lender announced its 2024 results and 2025 outlook earlier.

Tate & Lyle fell to the bottom of the FTSE 250, losing 9.5% after the food ingredients maker gave a downbeat 2025 outlook.

Among sectoral moves, oil and gas lost 2.2% as oil prices fell on a potential peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. [O/R]

Limiting losses, Coca Cola HBC jumped 9.1% after the bottler's full-year results topped expectations.

The pound ticked up after data showed Britain's economy unexpectedly picked up in late 2024.

"The economy is hardly in good health and another quarter bumping along the bottom is not the growth the government has promised," said Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell.

"There's always the possibility that these figures could be revised but right now it looks like the UK has dodged the confidence-sapping label of a technical recession."

Bank of England Chief Economist Huw Pill told Reuters that the central bank needs to move cautiously with cutting interest rates because the long process of wrestling down inflation is not yet complete.

(Reporting by Sanchayaita Roy and Pranav Kashyap in Bangalore; Editing by Eileen Soreng)