London Stocks Lower ahead of Central Bank Minutes

U.K. stocks fell Wednesday, with investors waiting for insight into monetary policy from the Bank of England’s meeting earlier this month.

The FTSE 100 index UKX, -0.25% fell 0.2% to 6,696.99 as metals, energy and industrial issues were under pressure. Miner Anglo American PLC AAL, -2.13% fell 1.9%. Shares of Intertek Group PLC ITRK, -7.50% fell 7.5%, leading losses on the benchmark, after the product-testing and certification company said organic revenue fell 0.7% in the 10 months through Oct. 31.

At 9:30 a.m. London time, the central bank is due to release minutes from its November meeting, and investors will look what policy makers said about wage growth and inflation. On Tuesday, government data showed inflation in the U.K. rose by 1.3% in October, compared with 1.2% in September. While that beat expectations of a rate of 1.2%, the October level remains below the central bank’s target of 2%.

Royal Mail PLC RMG, -4.94% shares turned lower, trading down 0.8%. The delivery-services company said half-year interim revenue rose to 4.53 billion pounds ($7.08 billion) from £4.52 billion in the previous period. Net profit, however, fell as results in the previous period benefited from exceptional income related to pension provision.

Source: MarketWatch