London stocks moved lower on Tuesday as investors assessed a mixed bag of corporate earnings and exercised caution around interest rate decisions in the US and UK.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index was down 0.4%, after hitting its highest level since early June on Monday.
The mid-cap FTSE 250 index was off 0.1% by 0710 GMT.
The beverages sector was the worst hit, down 6.8% to its lowest since November 2020.
Diageo fell 8.1% to the bottom of the FTSE 100 after the spirits maker reported a steeper than expected 4.8% decline in annual organic operating profit.
Energy shares climbed 0.6%, buoyed by a 1.9% gain in top player BP, which reported a second-quarter profit above expectations, raised dividend and extended its share repurchase programme.
Precious metal miners inched 0.9% higher as heavyweight Fresnillo gained 2.3% after its half-year results.
Investors exercised caution ahead of interest rate decisions in the US and the UK, due later in the week.
The Federal Reserve is expected to keep rates unchanged, while bets of a cut from the Bank of England stand at just over 58%, despite data showing sticky services inflation.
Also on the radar this week are a crucial jobs report in the US and quarterly earnings from Big Tech names like Microsoft, which is set to report after the closing bell on Tuesday.
London’s FTSE 100 boosted by energy stocks; US, UK rate decisions in focus
In London, Standard Chartered gained 5.1% to top the FTSE 100 after the bank announced its largest-ever share buyback worth $1.5 billion and lifted its earnings outlook for this year.
St James’s Place gained 18% to the top of the FTSE 250 after the wealth manager said it plans to cut tens of millions of pounds of costs, as it tries to rebuild investor confidence following regulatory scrutiny of its charges.
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