BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - U.K. stocks were moving lower on Wednesday as new coronavirus continue to mount in major cities around the world, raising concerns over the pace of economic recovery.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on Tuesday the U.S. economy still has a 'long way to go' before it fully recovers from the pandemic.
A stronger pound also weighed on markets amid signs the U.K. and European Union are nearing a breakthrough on Brexit.
The benchmark FTSE 100 dropped 25 points, or 0.4 percent, to 6,340 after declining 0.9 percent the previous day.
Property development and investment company British Land tumbled 3.4 percent after widening its first-half loss.
Shares of Halfords Group surged 8 percent after the provider of motoring and cycling products and services reported that its first-half profit more than doubled from last year on strong revenue growth.
RSA Insurance gained almost 4 percent as a consortium of Canadian insurance group Intact and Denmark's Tryg offered 685p per share for the company.
Micro Focus shares jumped as much as 22 percent. The software group said it expects earnings margins for its last financial year will be 'towards the upper end of management expectations.'
In economic releases, U.K. inflation accelerated more-than-expected to a three-month high in October driven by higher clothing and food prices, the Office for National Statistics said.
Consumer prices advanced 0.7 percent on a yearly basis in October, faster than the 0.5 percent increase logged in September. The rate was forecast to rise marginally to 0.6 percent.
Although inflation was the highest in three months, this was well below the Bank of England's target of 2 percent.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX