(RTTNews) - U.K. stocks drifted lower on Tuesday while sterling edged up versus the euro and dollar as new data supported the view that the British economy was on a solid footing.
Official data revealed that the U.K. unemployment rate dropped in the three months to July and the wage growth softened to a two-year low.
The unemployment rate fell to 4.1 percent in the three months to July from 4.2 percent in the preceding period.
Annual growth in average earnings, excluding bonuses, was 5.1 percent in the three months to July, as expected, but weaker than the 5.4 percent posted in the prior period. This was the weakest since 2022.
Capital Economics' economist Ashley Webb said that further easing in wage growth is a welcome sign but will not be enough to prompt a back-to-back 25 basis points interest rate cut, from 5.00 percent to 4.75 percent in September.
The benchmark FTSE 100 was down 51 points, or 0.6 percent, at 8,219 after gaining 1.1 percent in the previous session.
In corporate news, AstraZeneca slumped 4.5 percent after its lung cancer drug showed mixed results in a late-stage trial.
Gamma Communications, a provider of voice, data, mobile, and other communication services, soared 7 percent after posting a rise in earnings and revenue for the first half, supported by acquisitions.
Centamin jumped nearly 24 percent after AngloGold Ashanti made a $2.5 billion (about R44.6 billion) bid in a mix of shares and cash to acquire the gold miner.
