By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.K. stocks fell Wednesday, with
investors waiting for insight into monetary policy from the Bank of
England's meeting earlier this month.
The FTSE 100 index fell 0.2% to 6,696.99 as metals, energy and
industrial issues were under pressure. Miner Anglo American PLC
fell 1.9%. Shares of Intertek Group PLC fell 7.5%, leading losses
on the benchmark, after the product-testing and certification
company said organic revenue fell 0.7% in the 10 months through
Oct. 31.
At 9:30 a.m. London time, the central bank is due to release
minutes from its November meeting, and investors will look what
policy makers said about wage growth and inflation. On Tuesday,
government data showed inflation in the U.K. rose by 1.3% in
October, compared with 1.2% in September. While that beat
expectations of a rate of 1.2%, the October level remains below the
central bank's target of 2%.
Royal Mail PLC shares turned lower, trading down 0.8%. The
delivery-services company said half-year interim revenue rose to
4.53 billion pounds ($7.08 billion) from GBP4.52 billion in the
previous period. Net profit, however, fell as results in the
previous period benefited from exceptional income related to
pension provision.
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