Investing
Gloomy Economic Data Pulls UK Shares Lower
Published by Jessica Weisman-Pitts
Posted on April 11, 2022
2 min readLast updated: February 8, 2026
Add as preferred source on Google
By Devik Jain and Sruthi Shankar
(Reuters) -British stocks ended lower on Monday as data showed the economy slowed more than expected in February, intensifying worries about a cost-of-living squeeze.
Gross domestic product rose by 0.1% in February, missing the 0.3% rise forecast by economists in a Reuters poll and down from a 0.8% increase in January.
London’s leading share index closed 0.7% lower, pulling back from its strongest level in nearly two months, while the domestically focused FTSE 250 midcap index declined 0.3%.
“The winding down of the UK’s booster vaccine and Covid-19 test campaigns weighed on growth in February and will continue to do so for the next few months,” James Smith, economist at Dutch bank ING said in a note.
“Combined with the cost-of-living crisis, falling confidence, and the presence of an extra bank holiday, we expect second-quarter growth to come in slightly negative.”
Still, the FTSE 100 has risen more than 3% so far this year, outpacing its global peers on the back of gains in heavyweight commodity and banking stocks as oil and metal prices rallied on the Russia-Ukraine conflict and interest rate hikes from the Bank of England to tame inflation.
Meanwhile, the pound flattened to $1.3033 by market close, not far from its lowest level against the dollar since November 2020. A weaker pound tends to boost the FTSE 100, which houses many international players that earn in dollars. [GBP/]
However, concerns related to the domestic economy have been reflected in the mid-cap index, which is down more than 10% in 2022.
Among individual stocks, Ascential climbed 2.1% after the events and analytics company confirmed a media report that it was in the early stages of evaluating the merits of a break-up of some of its businesses.
Energy services provider John Wood Group surged 12.7% after Jefferies upgraded the stock to “hold” from “underperform”.
Weir Group slipped 3.2% after the engineering firm acquired Carriere Industrial Supply.
(editing by Uttaresh.V, Subhranshu Sahu and Alex Richardson)
Frequently Asked Questions about Gloomy economic data pulls UK shares lower
1What is the FTSE 100?
The FTSE 100 is a stock market index that represents the 100 largest companies listed on the London Stock Exchange, reflecting the performance of the UK stock market.
2What is inflation?
Inflation is the rate at which the general level of prices for goods and services rises, eroding purchasing power and affecting economic stability.
3What is a cost-of-living crisis?
A cost-of-living crisis occurs when the prices of essential goods and services rise significantly, making it difficult for individuals to maintain their standard of living.
