London Stock Market Falls as Global Interest Rate Concerns Persist

The FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 indices both declined by 0.3% and 0.2%, respectively.

The surprise rate hikes by the Bank of Canada and the Reserve Bank of Australia spooked investors globally and sparked concerns that major global central banks could stick to their rate tightening cycles for longer.

Vodafone Group and Sainsbury, two major companies in the UK, also fell as they went ex-dividend.

Homebuilder Crest Nicholson Holdings warned of a further slowdown in the British housing market, leading to a 7.1% decline in its shares.

The broader homebuilders index and precious metal miners and chemicals sectors also experienced losses.

Individual movers included FirstGroup, which jumped 13.9% after beating annual profit forecasts.

Investors will now await data on the UK's labour market, economic growth, and monthly industrial and manufacturing output to gauge the state of the economy and the policy tightening path.