BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - U.K. stocks drifted lower on Wednesday as doubts over a potential Covid-19 vaccine overshadowed encouraging earnings updates from the likes of Marks & Spencer Group Plc and Experian Plc.
Overnight, a report from STAT News questioned the validity of the results of Moderna's vaccine trial that had sent stock markets soaring on Monday.
The benchmark FTSE 100 dropped 13 points, or 0.21 percent, to 5,988 after declining 0.8 percent in the previous session.
Rolls-Royce Holding tumbled 3 percent. The engine maker announced plans to cut 9,000 jobs - almost a fifth of its global workforce - to make annual cost savings of 1.3 billion pounds ($1.59 billion).
Clothing and food retailer Marks & Spencer soared 7.3 percent. After reporting a 21 percent fall in annual profit, the company is accelerating its 'Never the Same Again' turnaround plan to cope with the fallout from the coronavirus crisis.
Shares of Experian Plc jumped 7.5 percent. The world's biggest credit data firm reported higher annual revenue and kept its dividend unchanged.
In economic releases, U.K. inflation slowed to the lowest since 2016 on weak oil prices in April, data from the Office for National Statistics showed.
Consumer price inflation eased to 0.8 percent in April from 1.5 percent in March. Economists had forecast the rate to ease to 0.9 percent. The latest rate was lowest since August 2016.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX