By Shashwat Chauhan and Khushi Singh
(Reuters) -Britain's FTSE 100 slipped for the third straight day on Wednesday following hawkish comments from Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey, while insurance heavyweights Aviva (LON:AV) and Prudential (LON:PRU) fell after bearish brokerage comments.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index dipped 0.4% and the domestically-focussed mid-cap index added 0.4%.
Bailey said that the central bank "will do what it takes" to get inflation down to its 2% target, adding that he had not yet seen enough progress towards that goal to be confident.
The life insurance sector fell 1.7%, to the bottom of FTSE 100 with Prudential slipping 3.5% after Deutsche Bank (ETR:DBKGn) reduced its price target on the stock.
Insurer Aviva also dropped 2.1% after the bank downgraded the stock to "hold" from "buy".
Banks slipped 1.0% following a 3.3% slip in Standard Chartered (LON:STAN).
Top gainer precious metal miners added 2.6% as gold prices continued surging as expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve may cut interest rates by the first half of next year boosted the outlook. [GOL/]
"It's now possible that gold is on course to take out its record closing high of $2,070 from August 2020," said David Morrison, Senior Market Analyst at Trade Nation.
Retailer shares climbed 1.3% on a 5.7% jump in sportswear firm JD Sports after U.S.-listed footwear retailer Foot Locker (NYSE:FL) forecast annual profit above market estimates.
Spirent Communications (LON:SPT) rose 5.9%, to the top of the mid-cap index after the IT and network service provider signed agreement with financial services organisation to automate its lab & testing capabilities.
Pets at Home Group jumped 5.1% after the retailer forecast like-for-like retail sales growth ahead of Christmas.
Rate-sensitive stocks like real estate, real estate investment trusts, and homebuilders rose more than 1.2% each.
Meanwhile, a Reuters poll showed British home prices will fall again in 2024 after dropping 4% this year as the Bank of England keeps interest rates higher for longer.