UK blue-chip stocks dipped on Monday, continiung the previous week’s decline on anticipations that the Bank of England and the U.S. Federal Reserve will show few clues about the further steps on monetary policies.
The FTSE 100 index slumped 1% to 7,089.80 adding to 0.8% drop last week. Sterling was steady at $1.3951.
The shares of bookmaker companies gained after the Gambling Commission has recommended the government to cut to £30 or less the maximum stake for fixed odds betting terminals. Ladbrokes Coral added 4.2%, William Hill - 3.8%, GVC Holdings - 1.3%.
Investors remain concerned about a potential global trade war between the U.S and their major trade partners. The U.S. central bank is higly expected to increase interest rates for the first time this year on Wednesday. The Bank of England might follow this decision on Thursday.