London shares drop as inflation reaches 10% in the UK

The UK's FTSE 100 fell 0.3% this morning after data showed inflation hit more than 10% in the UK, a level not seen for 40 years.

Investors now fear that the bank of England will have to resort to aggressive rate hikes to tame this price surge, by at least 0.5%.

Data reveals that consumers prices jumped to a higher-than-expected 10.1% year-on-year in July, up from 9.4% in June.

In other news, GSK fell 2%, despite announcing that the plaintiff in the U.S. trial over heartburn drug Zantac intends to withdraw its lawsuit. It added that it had not entered into any settlement with the plaintiff.

Asos also fell, by 8.4%, after it announced that its chief financial officer was stepping down.

Meanwhile, Balfour Beatty gained 8.6% after it said its UK construction arm bounced back from a loss last year to reach £18 million in profit in the first half of 2022. It also announced a hike in dividend.

 

Things to read today:

Elon Musk Says He Was Joking About Buying Manchester United (Bloomberg)

Traders Bet Bank of England Will Double Rates in Next Six Months (Bloomberg)

 American Airlines orders 30 “son of Concorde” supersonic jets (American Airlines)