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* Playtech top midcap loser
* BoE to tighten rates further in February - Reuters poll
* FTSE 100 down 1.2%, FTSE 250 off 2.0%
(Updates to close)
By Shashank Nayar
Jan 21 (Reuters) - London's FTSE 100 ended lower on Friday,
pulled down by heavyweight mining stocks and banks, while tepid
retail sales and rate-hike expectations further dampened
investor sentiment.
The blue-chip FTSE index dropped 1.2%, and ended the
week lower after delivering four consecutive weekly gains, with
HSBC Holdings, Lloyds Banking Group, BHP Group
, Rio Tinto, and Anglo American among
the top drags.
BHP dropped 3.2% after its investors in London and Sydney
approved plans to scrap dual listings in favour of a main
listing in Sydney, while Rio Tinto fell 2.2% after Serbia pulled
the plug on its $2.4 billion lithium project over environmental
concerns.
Retail stocks fell 1.6% after UK retail sales
slumped by 3.7% in December from a month earlier, official data
showed.
"Two-thirds of adults are reporting that the cost of living
has increased over the past four weeks, and with more energy
price rises on the way there are likely to be far fewer shoppers
merrily splashing the cash in the months to come," said Susannah
Streeter, senior analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.
The FTSE 100 has come under pressure this week amid weakness
in heavyweight stocks such as Unilever and a 0.5% drop
in banking shares, while still outperforming the
wider STOXX 600 index.
Adding to concerns were expectations that the Bank of
England will press ahead with its tightening cycle in February
as red-hot inflation runs well ahead of target, a Reuters poll
showed.
Meanwhile, BoE policymaker Catherine Mann said the central
bank needs to lean against inflation pressures and stop
expectations of higher price growth from getting entrenched in
medium-term wage and pricing decisions.
The domestically focussed midcap index lost 2.0%
with gambling software maker Playtech leading losses,
down 20.7%, after former Formula One team boss Eddie Jordan's
JKO Play pulled out of a potential bid to buy the firm.
Restaurant Group gained 1.2% after the Wagamama
owner said it expects full-year profit at the top end of its
forecast.
(Reporting by Shashank Nayar and Amal S in Bengaluru; Editing
by Sherry Jacob-Phillips, Shounak Dasgupta and David Evans)
