UK stocks fall as hawkish Fed triggers global sell-off

Oil majors BP and Royal Dutch Shell eased 1% each, while miners fell 0.6%, tracking commodity prices. U.S. central bank policymakers said in their meeting last month that a "very tight" job market and unabated inflation might require the Fed to raise interest rates sooner than expected, according to minutes released on Wednesday.

UK shares dropped on Thursday, tracking a fall in global equity markets after U.S. Federal Reserve meeting minutes pointed to faster-than-expected interest rate hikes to tame high inflation. The blue-chip FTSE 100 fell 1% by 0805 GMT. Oil majors BP and Royal Dutch Shell eased 1% each, while miners fell 0.6%, tracking commodity prices.

U.S. central bank policymakers said in their meeting last month that a "very tight" job market and unabated inflation might require the Fed to raise interest rates sooner than expected, according to minutes released on Wednesday. Banking stocks fell 0.6% even as the UK 10-year yields rose, fuelled by rate hike expectations.

The domestically focussed mid-cap index declined 1.2% as travel and leisure stocks dropped nearly 1.5%. Investors now await latest UK services PMI numbers to see the impact of Omicron coronavirus variant on the hospitality sector.