Europe: Britain's FTSE falls as Federal Reserve stalls election rally; miners sink on weak prices

[LONDON] UK shares fell on Friday, ending two days of gains as weak metals prices weighed, Burberry sank 5 per cent and Wall Street opened lower after a hawkish Federal Reserve statement renewed worries about an imminent interest rate hike.

The FTSE 100 closed down 0.5 per cent as negative sentiment on Wall Street and in Asia spilled over across European bourses, while the domestically focused mid-cap index was 0.8 per cent lower, also dragged lower by a weaker sterling.

The blue-chip index notched up small gains on the week as it continued to recoup ground lost in October. The FTSE 250 was down 1.1 per cent for the week.

As the pace of earnings releases slows, investors focused on news that the US Federal Reserve held interest rates as widely expected but indicated it was set for another rate hike in December despite worries about the US-China trade war and political uncertainty.

Falling base and precious metal prices as the dollar strengthened and lingering worries about Chinese demand knocked the mining sector down 3.7 per cent, for its worst day in a month. Weaker oil prices also dragged.

Antofagasta, Fresnillo and Glencore were all down more than 4 per cent.

"Investors are concerned that China is slowing down, and the drop in PPI overnight adds weight to the argument," said David Madden, market analyst at CMC Markets UK.

Burberry was dragged down 5 per cent to the bottom of the bourse as a cautious outlook from Richemont spooked the luxury goods sector.

SSE shares lost 2.5 per cent, their weakest performance in nearly two months, after the energy supplier said it was renegotiating terms with Innogy on a proposed retail energy tie-up, reigniting concerns about the outlook for the UK retail market.

Informa topped the leader board, up 2.7 per cent, after confirming it is on track to meet full-year targets and reported 3.9 per cent sales growth in the first ten months of the year.

AA was the second-biggest faller on the mid-cap, down 7.5 per cent after Credit Suisse downgraded the stock.

REUTERS