UK stocks slip at open; real estate shares fall after Jefferies downgrade

London stocks slipped at open on Wednesday amid concerns over higher-for-longer interest rates, while real estate shares fell after Jefferies analysts said London's embattled office market is in 'rental recession'. The blue-chip FTSE 100 inched 0.1% lower by 0710 GMT, while mid-cap stocks was down 0.2%.

London stocks slipped at open on Wednesday amid concerns over higher-for-longer interest rates, while real estate shares fell after Jefferies analysts said London's embattled office market is in 'rental recession'.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 inched 0.1% lower by 0710 GMT, while mid-cap stocks was down 0.2%. London's embattled office market is in 'rental recession' as volumes of empty space across the capital's West End, City and Canary Wharf business districts hit a 30-year high, analysts at Jefferies said.

Land Securities, British Land, Derwent London and Great Portland Estates fell between 2% and 3% after Jefferies downgraded all the stocks. The broader real estate index fell 1.4%.

Wall Street's main indexes fell on Tuesday, while Asian stocks traded mixed on Wednesday and benchmark U.S. Treasury yields were near multi-year highs, as investors fretted over the impact of higher-for-longer interest rates. Pendragon shares jumped 7.9% after the automotive retailer said on Tuesday it received an unsolicited proposal from AutoNation for about 447 million pounds ($544.2 million) in cash.

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