Investing
UK stocks start policy decision week lower; Entain falls
UK stocks start policy decision week lower; Entain falls
Published by Uma Rajagopal
Posted on December 17, 2024
Global Banking and Finance Review
Company
Published by Uma Rajagopal
Posted on December 17, 2024
(Reuters) -Britain’s FTSE 100 index slipped on Monday, with Entain dropping after Australia’s financial crime watchdog initiated legal proceedings against it, while a survey showed British businesses cut staffing by the most since the COVID pandemic this month.
The FTSE 100 was down 0.5%, with Entain taking the biggest hit, down 6.3%, after the Australian watchdog said its online betting platforms breached the country’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws.
Meanwhile, British businesses cut staffing at the fastest pace in almost four years and reported the sharpest confidence drop since the COVID lockdowns, according to two surveys that placed much of the blame on the new government’s tax increases.
The sterling rose against the dollar after the data pointed to a rise in prices in Britain. [GBP/]
Separately, mortgage lender Nationwide said British house prices are expected to rise by 2%-4% next year on easing borrowing costs and affordability restraints.
Precious metal miners led sectoral losses with a 2.1% decline. Energy companies such as Shell and BP lost 1.6% and 2.7% respectively, tracking lower oil prices on weak Chinese consumer spending. [O/R]
On the flip side, aerospace and defence stocks added about 1%.
The domestically-focussed FTSE 250 was down 0.4%, logging its sixth straight session of declines, its longest losing streak since September 2023.
Computacenter was among the biggest decliners on the mid-cap index, dropping 3.1% after the technology and services provider’s finance chief Christian Jehle stepped down.
All eyes are on the trajectory of global monetary policy, as the rate decisions by the U.S. Federal Reserve, Bank of Japan and Bank of England are lined up this week.
While the Fed is expected to cut rates by 25 basis points on Wednesday, the BoE is widely seen holding rates on Thursday, with a similar expectation for the Bank of Japan.
(Reporting by Ankika Biswas and Sukriti Gupta in Bengaluru; Editing by Varun H K and Ros Russell)
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