London stocks edge higher, Shell caps gains
UK's blue-chip shares rose on Thursday, led by banks and consumer stocks, although they lagged major European peers as Shell said its third-quarter profit would be pressured by a near halving of oil refining margins. The export-oriented FTSE 100 was up 0.2%, while the more domestically oriented FTSE 250 was off 0.6% by 0722 GMT.
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UK's blue-chip shares rose on Thursday, led by banks and consumer stocks, although they lagged major European peers as Shell said its third-quarter profit would be pressured by a near halving of oil refining margins.
The export-oriented FTSE 100 was up 0.2%, while the more domestically oriented FTSE 250 was off 0.6% by 0722 GMT. The broader pan-European STOXX 600 index was up 0.7%.
Oil major Shell fell 3.3% after it warned of pressure on third-quarter profit, citing a sharp drop in refining margins and "significantly" weaker earnings from natural gas trading. Banks rose 0.9%, while consumer stocks such as British American Tobacco and Unilever climbed 1.1% and 0.5%, respectively.
Britain's construction activity is expected to show a contraction at 0830 GMT, as the housing sector struggles amidst hawkish Bank of England's policies. Fitch, meanwhile, lowered the outlook for its credit rating for British government debt to "negative" from "stable", days after a similar move from rival Standard & Poor's following the government's Sept. 23 fiscal statement.
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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