UK’s FTSE 100 lags regional peers as banks, insurers fall

By Shashwat Chauhan

(Reuters) -UK’s FTSE 100 slipped on Wednesday, lagging other regional markets in Europe after hawkish comments from the Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey, while insurance heavyweights Aviva and Prudential fell following bearish brokerage comments.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 index dipped 0.1%, while the pan-European STOXX 600 rose 0.5%. [.EU]

The life insurance sector fell 0.4%, with Prudential slipping 0.7% after Deutsche Bank reduced its price target on the stock.

Aviva dropped 1.2% after the bank downgraded the stock to “hold” from “buy”.

BoE Governor Andrew Bailey, meanwhile, said that the central bank “will do what it takes” to get inflation down to its 2% target, adding that he had not yet seen enough progress towards that goal to be confident.

The pound slipped but hovered near a three-month high. Meanwhile, the dollar ticked up after hopes that the U.S. Federal Reserve will soon be cutting rates dragged the greenback to its lowest in more than three months. [FRX/]

“If you look at the interest rate pricing, many investors are thinking (that) rates have peaked. However, there is a big difference in terms of rates peaking and remaining higher for longer,” said Eddie Cheng, head of international multi-asset portfolio management at Allspring Global Investments.

“This is where the market and the central banks have a huge discrepancy.”

Banks slipped 1.7% following a 2.3% fall in HSBC, which was the biggest weight on the FTSE 100.

Rate-sensitive stocks like real estate, real estate investment trusts, and homebuilders rose more than 1% each.

The domestically-focussed mid-cap index added 0.4%.

Among individual stocks Halfords Group plunged 21.1% after the bicycles-to-car parts retailer narrowed its annual profit forecast range.

Looking ahead the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) report in the United States – the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge – due Thursday will be crucial in assessing the global economic scenario.

(Reporting by Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru; Editing by Dhanya Ann Thoppil and Eileen Soreng)