FTSE 100 Dips as Stronger Pound and Mixed Earnings Weigh

By Johann M Cherian

(Reuters) -UK’s blue-chip index edged lower on Wednesday as lacklustre quarterly earnings from ad firm WPP and consumer goods company Reckitt Benckiser outweighed market cheer over Rishi Sunak pledging to lead the country out of an economic crisis.

The export-heavy FTSE 100 index was down 0.3% by 0903 GMT, with shares of dollar-earning consumer staple companies under pressure from a rise in sterling. [GBP/]

The domestically-focused midcap FTSE 250 rose 0.9%.

Shares of WPP dropped 3.6% after the group tempered its expectations for operating margin growth, and Reckitt Benckiser slumped 4.1% to the bottom of FTSE 100 after reporting a decline in its third quarter sales volumes.

Shares of Standard Chartered also fell 4% despite a 40% surge in profit after the Asia-exposed bank said the outlook for China’s real estate sector remains “challenging”. Barclays slipped 1% after it set aside a hefty charge for potentially soured loans, highlighting a tough outlook for borrowing.

Analysts point to recessionary fears driven by hawkish rate hikes by central banks and a cost of living crisis.

Meanwhile, British finance minister Jeremy Hunt met Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey and reaffirmed his commitment to the central bank’s independence and its inflation target.

However, Rishi Sunak, appointed Britain’s third prime minister in two months on Tuesday, will want to take some time to look at details of a fiscal statement originally due at the end of this month, foreign minister James Cleverly said.

“He won’t want to misstep because the last time there was a budget announcement it resulted in a big sell off in the bond market”, said Giles Coghlan, Chief Market Analyst at HYCM.

“Yes, there can be some fiscal conservative measures to reassure investors, but he’s going to have a compassionate eye on the most vulnerable as well going forward.”

UK financial markets were roiled earlier this month, with the pound hitting 2008 lows after the previous prime minister, Lizz Truss announced a series of unfunded tax cuts in September.

Among positive moves, AstraZeneca Plc jumped 2.1% after the British drugmaker said its experimental drug Capivasertib met the main goals of a breast cancer study.

(Reporting by Johann M Cherian in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Krishna Chandra Eluri)