Written by Purvi Agarwal and Pranav Kashyap
(Reuters) – British shares closed lower on Tuesday as investors remained cautious ahead of economic data that could affect expectations about the path of interest rates in the United States and the United Kingdom, and losses at Burberry also weighed on the market.
The FTSE 100 blue-chip index fell 0.4% to 8,247.79 points, while mid-cap stocks fell 1%.
Burberry shares fell 4.5%, the largest on the benchmark index, after the luxury fashion brand achieved steady gains over the past three sessions.
Aerospace and defense stocks including Melrose Industries, Rolls-Royce (OTC:) and Senior PLC fell between 1% and 2.4% after European aerospace group Airbus cut its industrial and financial guidance for the year.
Traders have largely avoided big bets ahead of US personal consumer spending data due on Friday, even as the market expects the numbers to show a moderation in inflation.
UK GDP is also due to be released this week, likely increasing policymakers’ confidence in the Bank of England (BoE) to cut interest rates in August.
The UK parliamentary elections scheduled for July 4 are adding to public caution and investors are also expecting the Bank of England to refrain from publishing minutes of its pre-election meeting.
“The market will now focus on the US personal consumption numbers more than anything else until the July 4th election in the UK,” said Axel Rudolf, chief market analyst at IG Group.
Ocado (LON:) shares fell 7.1% after several brokerages cut their price targets for the online grocery and technology group.
On the positive side, London-listed Carnival (NYSE:) shares rose 9.4% after the cruise operator raised its annual earnings forecast for the second time this year.
Admiral Group (LON:), the biggest gainer on the FTSE 100, rose 2.3% after Berenberg raised his outlook on the stock to “buy” from “hold.”
