UK's FTSE 100 muted as investors assess data heavy week; Vodafone jumps

Medical equipment and services, beverages and personal care stocks led declines, down between 0.7% and 1%. Investors will now watch the Bank of England's interest rate decision next week, where it is widely expected to stand pat, but unlikely to provide clear indications about when its first rate cut might come.

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FTSE 100 flat, FTSE 250 adds 0.1% March 15 (Reuters) -

The UK's FTSE 100 was little changed on Friday as investors tracked global downbeat sentiment, with sticky U.S. inflation weighing on hopes of interest rate cuts, while Vodafone shares jumped on selling its Italian arm. The exporter-heavy FTSE 100 held its ground at 7,741.65 points by 0824 GMT, and the domestically oriented FTSE 250 edged up 0.1%.

Markets tracked dour sentiment from Wall Street and Asian equities, as hotter-than-expected consumer and producer inflation readings dampened investor hopes of an early interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve, potentially setting the tone for other central banks. Medical equipment and services, beverages and personal care stocks led declines, down between 0.7% and 1%.

Investors will now watch the Bank of England's interest rate decision next week, where it is widely expected to stand pat, but unlikely to provide clear indications about when its first rate cut might come. Among individual stocks, Vodafone UK rose 4%, in a boost to the benchmark index, after Swisscom said it will buy Vodafone Italia for 8 billion euros ($8.70 billion) to merge the business with its Italian subsidiary Fastweb.

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