UK stocks fall as core inflation jumps

Marks & Spencer Group Plc added 6.9% as the retailer forecast a modest annual revenue growth and said it would resume its dividend with an interim payout in November. Ocado Group Plc slid 1.8% after it was marked to be removed from the FTSE 100 index and added to the FTSE 250 index.

UK's main stock indexes fell on Wednesday, as a closely watched measure of core prices surged to a 31-year high in April, cementing bets of further interest rate hikes by the Bank of England.

The export-focussed FTSE 100 fell 1.0%, also hit by risk-off mood in global markets on the U.S. debt deal uncertainty. The mid-cap FTSE 250 shed 1.0%. The pound climbed 0.2% after data showed April consumer inflation (CPI) eased to 8.7% but was above economists' expectations of an 8.2% rise, sparking fresh bets that the BoE would not budge from monetary tightening just yet.

Core inflation, which excludes energy, food and tobacco prices, and price growth in the services sectors both hit their highest rates since March 1992. Marks & Spencer Group Plc added 6.9% as the retailer forecast a modest annual revenue growth and said it would resume its dividend with an interim payout in November.

Ocado Group Plc slid 1.8% after it was marked to be removed from the FTSE 100 index and added to the FTSE 250 index.