FTSE 100 weighed down by jobless data, Rolls-Royce

London's FTSE 100 fell on Tuesday as data underscored a tight labour market, with healthcare and consumer staples stocks weighing the most, while Rolls-Royce declined to the bottom of the blue-chip index after brokerage action.

London's FTSE 100 fell on Tuesday as data underscored a tight labour market, with healthcare and consumer staples stocks weighing the most, while Rolls-Royce declined to the bottom of the blue-chip index after brokerage action. The FTSE 100 dropped 0.8%, with GlaxoSmithKline , Diageo, HSBC Holdings and AstraZeneca down between 0.9% and 2.2%, while the domestically focused midcap FTSE 250 index declined 0.7%.

Rolls-Royce slumped 5.6% after JP Morgan downgraded the aero engineer's stock to "underweight" from "neutral". Official figures showed Britain's jobless rate slipped further below its level immediately before the coronavirus pandemic, underscoring the risk of inflation pressure in the labour market that has the Bank of England on alert.

ASOS slid 5.1% after the online fashion retailer reported an 87% fall in first-half profit, reflecting supply chain constraints impacting stock availability and cost inflation. Broadly, mood was cautious as investors awaited U.S. inflation data, due later in the day, that could reinforce the Federal Reserve's stance to aggressively tighten its pandemic-era monetary policy.