London shares fall ahead of Reuters PMI data

(Reuters) – British stocks fell on Monday after posting their worst day since August in the previous session, as investors awaited flash PMI data for more clues on the country’s economic growth.

At 0720 GMT, the blue-chip index and the more market-focused mid-cap index were down 0.1 percent each.

Both indices posted their worst day in nearly seven weeks on Friday after the Bank of England kept interest rates steady on Thursday even as the Federal Reserve cut benchmark rates by 50 basis points.

Investors will be watching UK PMI data later in the day for the services and manufacturing sectors for more indicators of growth and price increases in these sectors.

Last week, UK consumer price inflation data – which is closely watched by the BoE for its monetary policy – pointed to persistent price pressures in the services sector.

Precious metal miners rose 0.8 percent as gold prices hit record highs on Fed interest rate cuts and demand for the safe-haven asset for geopolitical risks in the Middle East.

The personal goods sector led decliners, dragged down by a 2.2 percent loss in shares of luxury goods maker Burberry, which was on course for a second straight session in the red.

Rightmove (OTC: ) rose 3% after Australian group REA made a third bid to buy the British property listing firm with a new offer of 6.1 billion pounds ($8.12 billion).

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ: ) fell 0.6% after the drugmaker said its experimental precision medicine did not significantly improve the overall survival of patients with a type of breast cancer in an advanced-stage trial.