London stocks fall as rate hike worries linger, Lloyds drags

UK’s FTSE 100 slipped on Wednesday, bogged down by disappointing earnings from Lloyds and Rio Tinto, while worries of interest rates remaining higher for longer further dented risk appetite.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 (.FTSE) lost 0.9%, hitting its lowest level in over a week. Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY.L) fell 2.2% after Britain’s biggest mortgage lender reported a flat annual profit for 2022 as mounting bad loan provisions offset a jump in income, reported Reuters.

The banking sector (.FTNMX301010) lost 1.4%, with shares of HSBC (HSBA.L) off 1.2% and Prudential (PRU.L) down 2.3%.

London-listed shares of Rio Tinto (RIO.L) slumped 2.5% after the global miner posted a 38% drop in annual profit and more than halved its dividend.

That, along with a dip in metal prices, dragged the industrial metal mining sector (.FTNMX551020) down 2.5%.