FTSE 100 falls as BoE rate hike looms; ASOS slides on profit warning

The FTSE 100 index was down 0.5% by 0709 GMT, with tobacco firm British American Tobacco slipping 0.9% to pull the blue-chip index lower. Homebuilder Persimmon and asset manager Intermediate Capital slumped 6.1% and 5.1%, respectively, to the bottom of the index as their shares traded ex-dividend.

London's FTSE 100 fell on Thursday as consumer staple stocks and companies trading ex-dividends weighed, with investors bracing for the fifth interest rate hike by the Bank of England in its quest to combat inflation nearing double-digits. The FTSE 100 index was down 0.5% by 0709 GMT, with tobacco firm British American Tobacco slipping 0.9% to pull the blue-chip index lower.

Homebuilder Persimmon and asset manager Intermediate Capital slumped 6.1% and 5.1%, respectively, to the bottom of the index as their shares traded ex-dividend. The domestically focussed mid-cap FTSE 250 index declined 0.4%.

The British central bank's policy announcement is due at 1100 GMT. Markets are fully pricing in a quarter-percentage-point increase in bank rate to 1.25%. But investors have put a nearly 50% probability on a half-point rise by the BoE, something it has not done since 1995. ASOS Plc slumped 14.7% after the online fashion retailer warned it would miss profit forecasts after seeing a significant rise in product returns as inflationary pressure impacted its twenty-something customers.