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* Sainsbury's gains on beating sales expectations
* Private equity firm Bridgepoint to list on LSE
* FTSE 100 down 0.9%, FTSE 250 off 0.6%
By Amal S
July 6 (Reuters) - London's FTSE 100 marked its worst
session in nearly three weeks on Tuesday, dragged down by
commodity-linked and bank stocks, while a stronger pound weighed
on export-oriented companies.
The blue-chip index dropped 0.9%, pulled down by
miners, energy and major banking
stocks.
Dollar-earnings consumer staples companies Unilever
, Diageo, and British American Tobacco
were among the biggest drags on the export-heavy index as
sterling hit over a week's high against the dollar.
Britain's 2 trillion-pound ($2.8 trillion) debt mountain is
becoming more exposed to inflation and interest rate shocks
which are themselves becoming more frequent, Richard Hughes,
chairman of the country's budget watchdog, said.
"Inflation woes certainly seem to have gripped UK investors
today following a pretty grim report from the government's
public spending watchdog," said Danni Hewson, financial analyst
at AJ Bell.
"High levels of public debt are more vulnerable than ever to
rising interest rates but failure to spend to deal with issues
such as Covid scarring and meeting climate targets brings its
own costs."
The FTSE 100 has gained nearly 10% so far this year on
government stimulus support and record low interest rates but
has largely underperformed its European and domestic mid-cap
peers and continues to be one of the lowest valued markets.
British online grocer and technology group Ocado
slipped 4.2% despite the company saying the demand for its
grocery business and technology remained strong after it
announced a 20% rise in first-half retail revenue.
Miners including Rio Tinto, Glencore, Anglo
American and BHP fell between 2.2% and 2.8% and
were the biggest drags.
While oil majors BP and Royal Dutch Shell
fell 4.1% and 2.1%, respectively, tracking weaker crude.
The domestically focussed mid-cap index slipped
0.6%.
Among stocks, British supermarket group Sainsbury's
rose 0.6% after it beat expectations for first-quarter sales
though growth slowed sharply.
Private equity firm Bridgepoint said it would list on the
London Stock Exchange to raise 300 million pounds ($417 million)
to support its growth plans as the sector revs up.
(Reporting by Shashank Nayar and Amal S in Bengaluru; Editing
by Subhranshu Sahu, William Maclean and Giles Elgood)
