London stocks end lower as rising oil, rate-hike bets weigh

London Stocks End Lower as Rate-Hike Worries and Oil Prices Weigh on Market

Market Overview and Key Drivers

FTSE Performance

Sept 7 (Reuters) - London's benchmark FTSE 100 slipped as rising oil prices and prospects of an interest rate hike by the U.S. Federal Reserve weighed on markets, while gains in energy stocks limited overall declines.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 index closed 0.1% lower at 10,822.13 points. The midcap FTSE 250 also slipped 0.3%.

Global and Sector Influences

Oil Prices and Geopolitical Tensions

• Oil prices traded near six-week highs as tit-for-tat strikes between the U.S. and Iran on vessels sailing in the Strait of Hormuz and other areas kept crude oil flows low.

Interest Rate Hike Expectations

• The inflationary impact from the war has pushed up bets of interest rate hikes in global economies. Friday's strong U.S. jobs reading also lifted expectations that the Fed will increase rates this month.

Sector Performance

Consumer and Energy Sectors

• Most sectors on the FTSE 100 were lower on Monday, with the consumer-facing personal care, drug and grocery and beverages sectors down 0.9% and 1.3% respectively.

• Energy stocks got the biggest boosts, with BP and Shell up about 1% each.

Upcoming Economic Data

• This week, an inflation reading in the U.S. and economic growth data for Britain will be parsed for more clues on how the economies are holding up.

• The FTSE 100 was little changed last week, but the mid-cap index marked its biggest weekly fall since early June as rising bond yields hammered risk assets.

Company Highlights

Finance and Insurance

• British finance minister John Healey tried to set out a brighter vision for the economy ahead of the annual budget, in his first speech since taking office.

• Standard Life gained 2% after the insurer posted better-than-expected profit for the first half.

Asset Management and Healthcare

• Emerging markets-focused asset manager Ashmore ended 1% higher after it reported a 17% jump in annual profit but narrowly missed analyst forecasts.

• Spire Healthcare gained about 3% after it agreed to be acquired by a consortium comprising funds managed by Toscafund, Three Hills and Ares, valuing its share capital at about £1,026 million ($1.39 billion).

Trading Activity

• Trading volumes on UK exchanges were well below their one-month average as U.S. markets were closed for a holiday.

(Reporting by Purvi Agarwal in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee and Alison Williams)