London stocks slide on weak global growth outlook

(Reuters) - UK's FTSE 100 index fell on Thursday as mining stocks dragged the commodity-heavy index lower over worries interest rate hikes by central banks would dent demand, while slowing factory data from Asia further clouded global economic outlook.

The FTSE 100 slid 0.6% at 0704 GMT, tracking its European and Asian peers.

Mining firms declined 2.1% as metal prices dropped on demand worries after fresh data from major global economies signalled tepid growth. [MET/L]

The domestically oriented FTSE 250 was down 0.7%, with industrial stocks leading losses.

Households expectations for average inflation over the next five to 10 years hit a record high, a monthly survey from YouGov and U.S. bank Citi showed, adding to a report last week by Goldman Sachs warning of a recession later in the year.

Reckitt Benckiser fell 3.9% after the company said its Chief Executive Officer Laxman Narasimhan will step down at the end of September.

Barclays declined 0.6% after the bank decided to sell its 7.4% stake in South African bank Absa, thus completing its exit from an over nine-decade presence on the continent.

(Reporting by Johann M Cherian in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)