FTSE 100 falls as JD Sports tumbles on profit warning

Business Recorder reported that the FTSE 100 index lost ground on Thursday, dropping 0.2 per cent, to stand at 10,723.02 points as of 1017 GMT. The midcap FTSE 250 also weakened, sliding 0.3 per cent to 24,575.63 points.

JD Sports slumped close to 15 per cent, on course for its steepest percentage fall in nine months, after cutting its profit outlook. The downgrade followed a sharp fall in second-quarter sales in North America, the company's key market. Insurer Legal & General and wealth manager Investec also lost ground, falling 3.6 and 4.5 per cent as their shares traded ex-dividend.

Yields on 30-year British bonds rose close to 5.80 per cent, having dipped to 5.76 per cent on Wednesday after the US Treasury unexpectedly announced a buyback. Worries about inflation and rising public debt kept markets nervous. Oil prices hit three-week highs amid worries that the deadlock in the Iran war would keep disrupting Middle Eastern supply, lifting Brent crude more than 2 per cent to $94 and helping BP and Shell shares. Trainline lost a further 10 per cent after the competition regulator opened a probe into ticket pricing, while Ashtead Technology dropped 15.4 per cent after forecasting annual results below expectations because of project delays.