UK equities down as utilities, technology shares drag

The blue-chip FTSE 100 closed 0.4% lower, while the domestically focussed midcap index declined 0.3%

London equities ended lower for a third consecutive session on Thursday, with utilities and technology shares dragging on the main indexes, as investors assessed chip giant Nvidia’s results.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 closed 0.4% lower, while the domestically focussed midcap index declined 0.3%.

The FTSE 100 had hit a record high last week when global markets got a lift after U.S. Fed Chair Jerome Powell signalled a possible interest rate cut at the central bank’s September meeting.

Drax Group dropped 7.5% after Britain’s financial watchdog investigated the energy company’s biomass sourcing disclosures.

Other utility stocks were also under pressure, with Centrica and SSE both down 1.5%.

The technology index declined 1.4%, tracking global moves, after results from AI bellwether Nvidia fell short of some analysts’ expectations.

Precious metal mining stocks dropped, with Hochschild and Endeavour Mining both falling nearly 2%.

Losses were held in check by industrial mining stocks, with miners Anglo American and Rio Tinto adding 2.9% and 1.5%, respectively.

Among other individual stocks, PPHE Hotel was the top decliner on the FTSE 250, plunging 16.2% after the hospitality group posted lower half-yearly earnings.

GSK slid 1.2% despite Britain’s medical regulator approving the drugmaker’s new antibiotic pill Blujepa for treating urinary tract infections in women.

IT firm Softcat was the top gainer on the midcap index, gaining 3.8% after lifting its annual profit growth forecast for the third time in six months.

The Confederation of British Industry said that services businesses reported a fall in confidence and activity this month, with the employers’ group urging finance minister Rachel Reeves not to increase the corporate tax burden.