FTSE 100 falls as UK economic growth slows

Reuters – London‘s FTSE 100 index fell on Monday as data showed Britain’s economy lost steam in February, with miners and consumer staple stocks weighing the most on the commodityheavy index.

The exportheavy index fell 0.5 after logging its fifth straight weekly gain on Friday.

Oil majors BP and Shell slid 0.6 and 0.9, respectively, while industrial miners dropped 1, as they tracked lower crude and metal prices after China continued to grapple with COVID19 lockdowns.

Drugmaker AstraZeneca, Dove soap maker Unilever and utility SSE dipped between 0.7 and 2.7, dragging the bluechip index lower.

The domestically focused FTSE 250 midcap index fell 0.3.

Official data showed Britains economic growth slowed more sharply than expected in February, while industrial output fell by 0.6 on the month reflecting falls in car production and other areas due to component shortages.

The gross domestic product rose by 0.1, missing forecast of a 0.3 increase and down from 0.8 growth in January.

Broadly, Asian shares slid and bond yields climbed as caution gripped markets ahead of central bank meetings and U.S. inflation data later this week.