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FTSE 100 down 0.5%, FTSE 250 off 0.4%
June 19 (Reuters) – UK’s resource-heavy benchmark index opened lower on Monday, dragged down by miners and energy stocks, with AstraZeneca slipping on a report on the drugmaker’s plans to spin off its China business.
The resource-heavy FTSE 100 was down 0.5% at 0721 GMT, while the FTSE 250 mid-cap index fell 0.4%.
Miners and energy stocks fell 1% and 0.7%, respectively, on lower metals and crude oil prices amid uncertainties around top consumer China.<MET/L]
AstraZeneca fell 1% on a Financial Times’ report saying the company plans to spin off its China business and is considering a separate unit listing in Hong Kong, while Coca-Cola HBC AG fell 2% after it said it will buy Finlandia vodka brand owner Brown-Forman Finland Oy for $220 million.
Investors will closely monitor key readings on domestic inflation due Wednesday to gauge the path for monetary policy just a day ahead of the Bank of England’s (BoE) rate decision. (Reporting by Ankika Biswas in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee)