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* Bond worries resurface
* Vistry Group rises on upbeat outlook
* FTSE 100 down 0.4%, FTSE 250 off 0.7%
(Updates to close)
By Shivani Kumaresan and Amal S
March 4 (Reuters) - London's FTSE 100 fell on Thursday,
snapping three days of gains as most sectors dropped on concerns
over higher Treasury yields and inflation, while major miners
traded ex-dividend.
After falling as much 1.3%, the blue-chip FTSE 100 index
ended down 0.4%, with mining stocks, including Rio Tinto
, Anglo American, Glencore and BHP
among the biggest weights.
Rio Tinto and BHP were trading ex-dividend.
"Inflation is a dog that hasn't barked despite huge monetary
stimulus over the last 12 years, and the fears we’re seeing in
the market today could well fizzle out before raising government
bond yields much higher," said Laith Khalaf, financial analyst
at AJ Bell.
Resurgent worries about rising U.S. bond yields hit global
shares as investors waited to see if Federal Reserve Chair
Jerome Powell will address concerns about the risk of a rapid
rise in long-term borrowing costs.
Bank of England policymaker Silvana Tenreyro said there was
no good evidence that cutting interest rates below zero would,
past a certain point, weaken Britain's economy rather than boost
it.
The FTSE 100 has recovered around 35% from a
coronavirus-driven crash last year but has stayed below
pre-pandemic levels due to a raft of new lockdown measures.
The domestically focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index fell
0.7% on Thursday.
Meanwhile, British new car registrations fell by an annual
35.5% last month to their lowest February level since 1959 as
lockdown measures kept dealerships closed to the public, an
industry body said.
Melrose Industries was the best performer on the
FTSE 100, after the engineering business owner said it had begun
a sale process for its Nortek air-conditioning division.
Homebuilder Vistry Group rose 3.5%, after an upbeat
forecast and resuming its dividend.
Admiral fell 2.7% after the motor insurer said an
expected a rise in claims when lockdowns ease would increase its
loss ratio this year, with the warning eclipsing a 20% jump in
2020 earnings.
(Reporting by Shivani Kumaresan and Amal S in Bengaluru;
editing by Rashmi Aich and Steve Orlofsky)