(There will be no London stock market report on Monday, May 31
due to a UK public holiday)
* C&C Group slips after Berenberg cuts PT
* BoE chief economist warns of wage-price spiral inflation
risk
* FTSE 100 flat, FTSE 250 adds 0.1%
(Updates with market close)
By Shivani Kumaresan and Devik Jain
May 28 (Reuters) - London’s FTSE 100 was unchanged on
Friday, as weakness in miners and energy stocks countered gains
in bank shares, while the prospect of further stimulus in the
United States made investors optimistic of speedy economic
recovery.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index was falt with banks
and life insurers adding 0.6% and
0.1%, respectively. HSBC Holdings and Prudential
provided the biggest boost.
Homebuilders jumped with Vistry Group
and Taylor Wimpey gaining 4.2% and 2.6%,
respectively.
Miners, including BHP Group, Antofagasta
and oil majors BP and Royal Dutch Shell were the
biggest drags of the index.
The domestically focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index
inched 0.1% higher and outperformed the blue-chip index for the
second straight week with a 1.2% gain.
Meanwhile, Bank of England Chief Economist Andy Haldane
warned there is a chance that cost pressures faced by British
companies could lead to high prices that become embedded in pay
demands, in an echo of inflationary wage-price spirals of
previous decades.
After rising 8.7% in the first four months of this year on
recovery optimism, the FTSE 100 has traded in a tight range in
the past few sessions as concerns grew that central banks might
pare back their support early as economies reopen and inflation
picks up.
Globally, shares rallied too as investors bet the United
States will lead the world out of the pandemic, with the focus
turning to a multi-trillion dollar spending boost by the Biden
administration.
Among stocks, brewer C&C Group slipped 3.4% and was
among the top losers of the FTSE 250 index after Berenberg cut
its price target on the stock.
(Reporting by Shivani Kumaresan and Devik Jain in Bengaluru;
Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Alison Williams)
