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The blue-chip FTSE 100 slipped 0.1 per cent by 0805 GMT, extending losses from the previous session. — Reuters pic
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NEW YORK, Feb 17 — UK shares inched down today after a report of attacks in Ukraine left investors unnerved, while weaker-than-expected profit from Standard Chartered weighed on banking stocks.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 slipped 0.1 per cent by 0805 GMT, extending losses from the previous session, when data showed consumer prices rose at the fastest annual pace in nearly 30 years last month.
Russia-backed rebels accused Ukrainian forces of shelling their territory in violation of agreements aimed at ending conflict in the contested Donbass area, the RIA news agency reported, which Ukraine denied later.
Oil majors BP and Shell fell 0.6 per cent and 1.0 per cent, respectively, tracking weakness in crude prices after France and Iran said parties were closer to an agreement to salvage Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, offsetting tensions over Ukraine.
Banking stocks slipped 0.3 per cent, with Standard Chartered falling 2.0 per cent to lead losses after its full-year profit missed expectations.
Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc, the maker of Lysol, rose 3.5 per cent on beating analysts’ estimates for fourth-quarter sales, as heightened fears about Covid-19 led to increased demand for its cleaning products.
The domestically focussed mid-cap index was flat in early trading. — Reuters