FTSE 100 Moderately Lower; BoE Cuts Interest Rate By 0.25%

(RTTNews) - The U.K. market is down in negative territory a little past noon on Thursday, extending its morning weakness, as investors largely remain cautious despite the Bank of England (BoE) reducing interest rate by a quarter percentage point this noon.

The BoE cut interest rates from 4.25% to 4% as the central bank resumes a "gradual and careful" approach to lowering interest rates.

The Monetary Policy Committee voted 5-4 to cut the bank rate by 25 basis points. The fifth cut since last August took the rate to the lowest since early 2023.

"A gradual and careful approach to the further withdrawal of monetary policy restraint remains appropriate," the bank said in a statement.

The central bank was widely expected to trim rates by 25 basis points at its last monetary policy meeting, but traders and economists were keen to see the breakdown of support for the decision among the bank's policymakers.

The benchmark FTSE 100 was down 66.56 points or 0.73% at 9,097.75 nearly half an hour past noon.

Intercontinental Hotels Group is up 6.7% on strong results. In the first half, IHG's profit before tax climbed 34.1% to $633 million from last year's $472 million. Basic earnings per share grew 41% to 300.1 US cents from 212.5 US cents a year ago.

Coca-Cola HBC is gaining 2.2%, rebounding after previous session's sharp setback. Polar Capital Technology Trust, Smith & Nephew, Rentokil Initial, Spirax Group, Halma, Diageo, Easyjet, Antofagasta and Bunzl are up 1.3 to 2%.

Hikma Pharmaceuticals is down nearly 7% after the generic drug maker lowered its margin outlook for its injectables unit. Reported operating profit declined by 26% to $259 million in the first-half, impacted by a non-core legal settlement related to sodium oxybate. Core operating profit declined 7% to $373 million, reflecting a strong comparator in 2024 and changes in product mix.

BAE Systems is down by about 4.6% and Babcock International is down 4.5%. Hiscox, BT Group, St. James's Place, Vodfone Group, Natwest Group, Glencore, Next and Severn Trent are declining by 2 to 3.1%.

UK house prices grew at the fastest pace in six months in July as the property market started to stabilize following the end of the stamp duty holiday, data from the mortgage lender Halifax revealed.

House prices increased by more-than-expected 0.4% in July from June. Prices were expected to grow at a steady pace of 0.1% in July. Moreover, this was the fastest growth since January.

On a yearly basis, house price growth softened to 2.4% in July from 2.7% in June.