London markets end slightly lower as markets assess Fed autonomy concerns

(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)