By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch)--U.K. stocks closed lower on Thursday as
initial optimism over dovish minutes from the Federal Reserve was
overshadowed by broader worries about the eurozone.
The FTSE 100 index lost 0.8% to close at 6,431.85, marking its
third straight day of losses.
The benchmark initially opened with sharp gains after Fed
minutes released Wednesday reaffirmed the U.S. central bank's
intention to be prudent in raising interest rates. U.S. stocks
scored their biggest one-day gains of the year in the wake of the
release, but all major benchmarks overseas were in the red on
Thursday.
The broader European markets also closed lower, as fears about
the current weakness in Germany and the eurozone overshadowed
excitement with the Fed. The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index
lost 0.4% to 326.67, down from trading as high as 331.59 earlier in
the day.
In the U.K., focus was also on the Bank of England that left
interest at a record low of 0.5% and made no changes to its 375
billion ($607 billion) asset-purchase program.
At the BOE's September meeting, two members voted in favor of a
rate hike. Since then, however, U.K. inflation has slipped and
economic data have generally weakened, so most of the nine members
of the Monetary Policy Committee are widely expected to have voted
for no change. The minutes from the October decision will be out on
Oct. 22.
Among London market movers, miners posted some of the biggest
gains, as a weaker dollar helped drive commodity prices higher.
Shares of Randgold Resources Ltd. rallied 6.1%, Fresnillo PLC
gained 6.4%, and Antofagasta PLC put on 1.6%.
Royal Mail PLC added 1%. The delivery company reached a
settlement agreement with the French competition authority over
allegations it had breached antitrust laws in the postal
market.
On a more downbeat note, banks posted losses with shares of
Barclays PLC (BCS) down 1.5%, HSBC Holdings PLC (HSBC) off 1.4% and
Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (RBS) 2.1% lower.
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