(Reuters) – London stocks fell on Tuesday, dragged by weakness in the utility and real estate sector, while investors await speeches from Bank of England officials later in the day.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 had declined by 0.6% to 8,264.5 points by 1000 GMT, while the domestically-focussed FTSE 250 index had fallen 0.5%. Both hit one-week lows.
The benchmark was set to drop for a third straight day, which would mark its longest losing streak in over a month.
The utilities sector slid 1.5% and was the biggest drag, while real estate stocks lost 1.2%.
Investors are moving to the sidelines due to the uncertainty around the UK budget due on Oct 30.
“This weakness has a lot to do with the UK budget and the impact that it can have on public borrowing and debt restructuring in the UK,” said Daniela Hathorn, senior market analyst at Capital.com.
Keeping overall losses in check, precious metal miners gained 0.6% after gold prices hovered near a record-high on safe-haven demand. [GOL/]
Among individual stocks, Hunting Plc slumped 18% to a more-than-seven-month low after the energy services firm slashed its annual profit outlook.
Meanwhile, Morgan Sindall jumped 14% to a record-high after the construction and regeneration company said it expects 2024 results to exceed its previous forecast.
A slew of BoE speakers are scheduled to speak today, including Governor Andrew Bailey at 1325 GMT, monetary policy member Megan Greene at 0915 GMT, and Deputy Governor Sarah Breeden at 1915 GMT.
Across the pond, investors also remained on guard and fled to safe-haven assets like gold and U.S. bonds due to the uncertainty tied to the U.S. Presidential election. [MKTS/GLOB]
(Reporting by Pranav Kashyap in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D’Souza)
By Pranav Kashyap