London stocks fall as political uncertainty, soft economic data weigh

Signage for the London Stock Exchange Group is seen outside of offices in Canary Wharf in London, Britain, August 3, 2023. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo

By Pranav Kashyap and Purvi Agarwal

(Reuters) -The UK's main stock indexes closed lower for a third consecutive session on Thursday amid political uncertainty ahead of UK's elections in July, while news of slower growth across businesses in May weighed on sentiment.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 index and mid-cap FTSE 250 each tumbled 0.4%.

A surprise call for a general election by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak spooked investors as they weighed the potential scenarios.

"Markets like certainty, and pre-election there is caution and a sort of political uncertainty that could weigh on demand for UK stocks and the pound," said Fiona Cincotta, senior market analyst at City Index.

Utilities shares fell 7.1%, leading declines among sectors, after energy infrastructure operator National Grid said it is looking to sell its Grain liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Britain. The stock fell 10.9%, the biggest loss on the FTSE 100.

Precious metal miners weighed on the markers with a 1.7% slide, tracking lower prices of gold and silver. [GOL/]

On the brigher side, aerospace and defence sector gained 2.4%, boosted by Qinetiq Group after it hit a record high on an upgraded financial year outlook.

An upbeat quarterly earnings report from American chipmaker Nvidia boosted technology shares across global markets, lifting the U.S. benchmark S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq hit record highs.

A survey showed growth across British businesses had cooled more than any economist polled by Reuters had predicted.

Among stocks, Hargreaves Lansdown surged 14.4% after the investment platform rejected a 4.67 billion pound ($5.94 billion) takeover proposal.

Gains in Hargreaves supported the investment banking sector to a more than two-year high.

(Reporting by Pranav Kashyap and Purvi Agarwal in Bengaluru; Editing by Sohini Goswami, Krishna Chandra Eluri and Richard Chang)