By Bansari Mayur Kamdar
(Reuters) -London's FTSE 100 index dropped on Tuesday, with mining stocks taking a hit from a slump in iron ore prices, while shares in online betting group Flutter Entertainment and Asia-focussed lender Standard Chartered (LON:STAN) fell after posting quarterly results.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index eased 0.2% after closing at fresh February 2020 highs on Monday, while the domestically focussed mid-cap index slipped 0.2%.
Miners BHP Group, Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) and Anglo American (LON:AAL) were among the worst performers on the FTSE 100 as a tumbling iron ore market weighed on metal prices. [MET/L]
Paddy Power, Betfair and Fanduel owner Flutter Entertainment dropped 7.4% after it cut its full-year guidance on unfavourable sports results in October and a temporary exit from the Netherlands.
Standard Chartered forecast flat full-year income and dashed investor buyback hopes, and its shares fell 8.4% even though it reported that third-quarter profit doubled.[nL1N2RT06O]
"Standard Chartered pointed out that its recovery is going to be uneven and income could be flat going forward, raising fears that some of the exuberance we've seen of a rapid post-pandemic recovery is not going to happen," said Stuart Cole, head macro economist at Equiti Capital.
Supply-chain problems and rising inflationary pressures have led the FTSE 100 to underperform its European and U.S. peers that are trading near record levels.
Investors are on edge ahead of the Bank of England's interest rate decision on Thursday, with many expecting the central bank to raise rates for the first time since the pandemic.
"Indeed, while we think a hike is more likely to come early next year, when there will be more clarity on the UK's labour market and supply bottlenecks, we would not be surprised if rates are raised this year," said analysts at BNP Paribas (PA:BNPP).
THG (LON:THG) tumbled 9.2% as its biggest institutional investor BlackRock Inc (NYSE:BLK) offloaded nearly half its stake in the British e-commerce group at a 10% discount to current market prices.
BP (LON:BP) declined 3.6% even after adding more than a billion dollars to its share buyback programme on Tuesday as it likened itself to a "cash machine" benefitting from higher oil and gas prices and a strong trading performance in the third quarter.