- Auto Trader atop on upbeat margin outlook
- AstraZeneca soars as it ups profit outlook
- Flutter drops, sees FY earnings at bottom of range
- FTSE 100 down 0.1%, FTSE 250 off 0.3%
Nov 9 (Reuters) - UK's FTSE 100 fell on Thursday, hurt by a drop in shares of Flutter after a dour forecast, with investors awaiting comments from U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to gauge the path for global interest rates.
The FSTE 100 slid 0.1% and headed for its fourth session of decline in six.
Flutter dropped 9.5%, dragging the travel and leisure index to over a week's low after the online betting company said it expects full-year earnings, excluding the nascent U.S. market, at the bottom of its previous forecast range.
"The U.S. has been the big opportunity for Flutter for some time, and remains so, but today's warning is a reminder that this is a bigger beast, and if everything is not working in its favour, the consequences can be dire for investors," said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
AstraZeneca was among the top gainers on FTSE 100, jumping 2.7% after the drugmaker raised its annual core profit outlook, buoyed by strong demand for its oncology and rare blood disorder drugs.
Taylor Wimpey soared 2.0% after the homebuilder forecast annual operating profit at the top-end of its previous outlook range.
A survey showed that Britain saw some of the most widespread falls in house prices since 2009 last month, but the declines were at a slightly slower pace than in the previous two months.
Auto Trader2 topped FTSE 100, rising 7.6% as the UK-based online car marketplace forecast annual profit margins to increase from a year ago.
The mid-cap index FTSE 250 edged 0.3% lower, hurt by a 5.7% drop in shares of Wizz Air on narrowed annual profit forecast.
Focus will now shift to Powell, who is scheduled to speak at 1900 GMT with traders ready to scrutinise every word.
Meanwhile, Bank of England Chief Economist Huw Pill said that the central bank needed to maintain a restrictive stance for monetary policy in order to return inflation to target.
Reporting by Shubham Batra in Bengaluru; Editing by Varun H K
Source: Reuters