UK stocks pare losses after BoE keeps rates unchanged

London stocks pared losses on Thursday as rate-sensitive homebuilder shares rose after the Bank of England held interest rates steady, indicating it might be nearing the end of its rate-hike cycle.

London stocks pared losses on Thursday as rate-sensitive homebuilder shares rose after the Bank of England held interest rates steady, indicating it might be nearing the end of its rate-hike cycle. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index pared losses and was down 0.2%, by 1139 GMT.

The Bank of England halted its long run of interest rate increases on Thursday as the British economy slowed, but it said it was not taking a recent fall in inflation for granted. The central bank's move followed the Fed holding its interest rates steady on Wednesday.

"The BoE will continue to see slowdown in data. It will be sticky, but we don't think that they would need to go further in terms of a hike" said Pooja Kumra, senior European and UK rates strategist, TD Securities. The sterling fell to its lowest since March against the U.S. dollar, having traded around 0.4% lower at $1.23 before the BoE decision

Homebuilder stocks reversed course and jumped 0.5%, while retailers' index extended gains and climbed 2.1%. Industrial miners fell 1.8%, as greenback-priced metals declined on a firmer U.S. dollar.

Mid-cap stocks pared losses and slipped 0.2%. Next rose 3.3% after the clothing retailer raised its full-year profit outlook for the third time in four months.

JD Sports Fashion climbed nearly 8.1% after the sportswear retailer forecast a higher annual profit.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)