FTSE 100 Extends Losses Ahead Of BOE Rate Decision
(RTTNews) - U.K. stocks traded lower on Thursday amid growth worries after a survey showed British services growth cooled to a six-month low in July.
Investors also awaited the Bank of England's rate decision later in the day after the U.S. Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank lifted benchmark rates last week.
Today's decision is likely to be a close call between a 25 basis-point and a 50 basis-point hike. The announcement is due at 7.00 am ET.
The bank will also release its quarterly monetary policy report along with the policy decision.
The benchmark FTSE 100 was down 104 points, or 1.4 percent, at 7,457 after declining 1.4 percent the previous day.
Miners led losses, with Anglo American, Antofagasta and Glencore all falling around 2 percent.
Energy giants BP Plc and Shell both were down around 1 percent as oil price fell further from more than three-month highs despite data showing a historic drop in U.S. crude inventories.
Rolls-Royce shares rose about 1 percent after the aero-engineer reported a jump in first-half profit, led by a large improvement in its civil aerospace margin.
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