FTSE 100 Declines As Retail Sales Disappoint
(RTTNews) - U.K. stocks traded lower on Friday amid worries over rising bond yields and the escalating Israel-Hamas conflict.
Sentiment was also dented after official data showed U.K. retail sales logged a bigger-than-expected decline in September.
Retail sales dropped 0.9 percent on a monthly basis, in contrast to the 0.4 percent increase in August as the cost-of-living pressures damped spending and consumer sentiment.
Year-on-year, overall retail sales volume dropped at a slower pace of 1.0 percent after easing 1.3 percent in August.
Elsewhere, survey results from GfK showed that rising energy costs, high mortgage and rental rates, and geopolitical risks had dampened consumer sentiment in October.
The consumer confidence index unexpectedly fell to -30 from -21 in September. The score was forecast to improve to -20.
The benchmark FTSE 100 was down 40 points, or half a percent, at 7,459 after declining 1.2 percent on Thursday.
InterContinental Hotels tumbled 3.2 percent after the company said "some short-term financing challenges" are holding back new hotel developments.
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