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* Miners recover as copper prices rise
* Darktrace slides as investor sells stake
* FTSE 100 down 0.4%, FTSE 250 off 0.2%
(Updates to close)
By Bansari Mayur Kamdar and Amal S
Nov 3 (Reuters) - London's FTSE 100 slipped on Wednesday as
losses in heavyweight oil stocks and the stronger pound weighed,
while traders held back on uncertainty around a potential UK
rate hike.
The commodity-heavy FTSE 100 index ended 0.4% lower,
recording its worst session in nearly two-weeks, dragged by
weakness in oil majors Royal Dutch Shell and BP.
UK's energy subindex fell 2.2%, tracking
crude prices after industry data showed a big build in crude oil
and distillate stocks in the United States.
"Any weakness over the near term of oil prices and oil
producers is a potential buying opportunity," said Joshua
Mahoney, market analyst at IG Group.
The dollar earners in the index including Diageo,
Unilever and British American Tobacco took a
hit from sterling's strong gains.
Buoyed by soaring fuel prices, UK energy stocks have far
outperformed other sectors and the FTSE 100 index this year.
However, their performance this quarter has been muted so far,
falling 0.8%, compared with a 2.5% rise on the benchmark index.
Recent signs of slowing economic growth have raised doubts
among investors about potential interest rate hikes ahead of the
Bank of England's meeting on Thursday.
"The challenge facing central bankers is that if they move
too soon on rates they risk choking off the recovery, too late
and the evident inflationary pressures could run out of
control," said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
Base metal miners rebounded 0.6%, on the back
of strong copper prices.
Clothing retailer Next Plc was among the worst
performers on the blue-chip index, declining 3.3% after it
warned of slowing sales growth.
Cybersecurity firm Darktrace Plc declined 5.1% to
hit a more than two-month low after British private-equity firm
Vitruvian Partners said it had sold about 11 million ordinary
shares in the company.
The domestically focussed mid-cap index erased early
gains to end 0.2% down, with Trainline sliding 7% after
it said lack of clarity on UK's Williams Shapps Plan, and its
potential implications creates uncertainty for the railroad
operator.
(Reporting by Bansari Mayur Kamdar and Amal S in Bengaluru;
Editing by Shounak Dasgupta, William Maclean)
