(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock
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* IAG down on plans to cancel Air Europa acquisition
* Rentokil falls for second day on M&A plans
* Inflation jumped to 5.1% in Nov vs. 4.2% in Oct
* FTSE 100 down 0.7%, FTSE 250 off 0.5%
(Updates to close)
By Bansari Mayur Kamdar and Amal S
Dec 15 (Reuters) - The UK's FTSE 100 dropped on Wednesday
after data showed consumer prices jumped to their highest in a
decade ahead of a Bank of England meeting, while Cineworld fell
27% following a court order to pay $957 million in damages to a
rival.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 ended 0.7% lower, recording
its sixth straight session in the red, weighed down by
commodity-linked stocks.
The rapid spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant has put
the BoE in a double-bind, with investors no longer expecting the
central bank to raise rates as early as Thursday despite
higher-than-expected inflation numbers in November.
"It seems unlikely the Bank will move on rates tomorrow as
the UK looks ahead to a potentially substantial wave of Omicron
cases," Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said.
"However, today's data suggests Andrew Bailey and his
colleagues don't have the luxury of too much time to see how the
new variant affects the economy. If they don't act before
Christmas, they have may little choice at their first meeting of
2022 at the beginning of February."
Investors will also be watching for the U.S. Federal
Reserve's decision at the end of its two-day meeting later in
the day for clues on faster tapering of its pandemic-era bond
purchases and sooner interest rate hikes.
Britain recorded 59,610 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, the
highest since early January, as it faces what Prime Minister
Boris Johnson has called a "tidal wave" of infections.
Oil majors BP and Royal Dutch Shell declined
about 1.6% each, as crude prices fell on growing expectations
that supply will outpace demand next year.
Industrial miners tumbled 2.1% as cautious
investors reduced exposure to risk ahead of the Fed decision.
Cineworld plunged 39.4% after a Canadian court
ruling required it to pay C$1.23 billion ($957 million) to rival
Cineplex as damages for scrapping a takeover deal.
British Airways' parent company IAG slipped 5.1%
after it said it was set to cancel its takeover of Air Europa
after European regulators indicated they would not allow the
deal to go through without further concessions.
Pest control company Rentokil Initial fell 4.7%,
extending Tuesday's losses on its $6.7 billion bid to buy U.S.
rival Terminix.
(Reporting by Bansari Mayur Kamdar and Amal S in Bengaluru;
Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Barbara Lewis)
