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* Consumer staples fall on stronger pound
* Miners gain as copper prices jump
* Ryanair gains on higher air traffic forecast
* FTSE 100 flat, FTSE 250 off 0.2%
(Updates to close)
By Amal S
July 26 (Reuters) - London's FTSE 100 index ended flat on
Monday as weakness in healthcare stocks and a stronger pound
offset gains in commodity-linked shares, while Ryanair climbed
on strong summer bookings.
The benchmark FTSE 100 ended flat, with healthcare
and consumer staple stocks down
1.9% and 1.8% respectively.
Dollar-earning consumer staples stocks, including Unilever
, Reckitt Benckiser Group, and Diageo Plc
fell between 0.6% and 2.6% due to the stronger pound and were
among the top drags on the index.
"We're probably going to see a choppy market as we get
through the week. The big question mark here is the Fed meetings
as we could see Treasury yields really swing off on that.
There's a potential that we could have a hawkish surprise and
that could disrupt the risk appetite a little," said Edward
Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA.
The FTSE 100 has traded in a tight range since April, on
concerns around higher local COVID-19 infections and a potential
pullback of pandemic relief measures by the central bank, while
receiving some support from positive corporate earnings.
Providing some relief, however, government figures showed
Britain's coronavirus cases had fallen to the lowest daily total
since July 4.
The domestically focussed mid-cap index added 0.2%.
London-listed shares of Ryanair jumped 4% after it
nudged up its forecast for full-year traffic on strong summer
bookings.
"This demonstrates how resilient demand for foreign holidays
remains, particularly among the fully vaccinated cohort which
now have a little more freedom to travel," said Danni Hewson,
financial analyst at AJ Bell.
Miners Antofagasta, Rio Tinto and Anglo
American, meanwhile, were among the top gainers on
strong base metal prices.
Meanwhile, the energy sector gained 2.67%,
with Royal Dutch Shell up 2.5% after the oil major
announced plans to develop a new oilfield in the Gulf of Mexico,
its first major project to get the go-ahead since a Dutch court
ordered it to accelerate carbon emissions reduction targets.
(Reporting by Shashank Nayar and Amal S in Bengaluru Editing
by Uttaresh.V and Mark Potter)
