Finance
London markets end slightly lower as markets assess Fed autonomy concerns
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on August 27, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
Company
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on August 27, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
London markets closed slightly lower as concerns over Fed independence impacted investor sentiment. Financial stocks led declines, with NatWest down 2.5%.
(Reuters) -London stocks ended marginally lower on Wednesday, bogged down by heavyweight financial stocks as investors monitored the concerns around the U.S. Federal Reserve's independence.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 finished the day 0.1% lower, extending Tuesday's losses when global risk assets took a hit after U.S. President Donald Trump said he was firing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook.
Cook's lawyer responded that the Fed governor would file a lawsuit to prevent Trump from dismissing her.
Banks were among the top decliners on the FTSE 100 on Wednesday, with NatWest lagging, down 2.5%.
The UK's blue-chip index touched a record high last week, when global markets got a lift after Fed Chair Jerome Powell signalled a possible interest rate cut at the Fed's September meeting.
Equities in London, however, have run into turbulence this week with the blue-chip index down for two straight sessions and a bank holiday on Monday.
The FTSE 250 midcap index, which sits more than 11% away from its all-time high in September 2021, closed 0.3% down.
Hochschild Mining slumped 9.3% to the bottom of the midcap index after the miner slashed its full-year production forecast for its Mara Rosa mine by more than half.
On the flip side, personal goods led gains among the major FTSE sub-sectors on Wednesday with a 3.1% increase.
Among other moving stocks, JD Sports Fashion gained 3.6% after the sportswear retailer showed signs of stabilisation in its key U.S. market after a sharp decline in the previous quarter.
Insurer Prudential unveiled a $1.1 billion share buyback plan and signalled higher dividends over the next two years after posting a 12% rise in first-half new business profit. Its shares, however, ended 1.7% down, shedding initial gains.
Global investor focus was expected to be on U.S. tech giant Nvidia's quarterly earnings due later in the day.
(Reporting by Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru; Editing by Sahal Muhammed and Mark Heinrich)
The FTSE 100 is a stock market index that represents the 100 largest companies listed on the London Stock Exchange, measured by market capitalization.
Monetary policy refers to the actions taken by a central bank to manage the money supply and interest rates to achieve macroeconomic objectives like controlling inflation and stabilizing currency.
A stock market index is a measurement of a section of the stock market, calculated from the prices of selected stocks, which reflects the market's overall performance.
Investor focus refers to the attention and analysis given by investors to specific sectors, companies, or economic indicators that may influence their investment decisions.
Heavyweight financial stocks are large, influential companies in the financial sector, often with significant market capitalization and impact on market indices.
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