London stocks sink in global rout on Fed rate cut, valuation jitters

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FTSE 100, FTSE 250 fall over 1%

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Banks extend losses

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Miners decline as gold and copper prices weaken

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Imperial Brands (IMBBF) jump after beating profit forecast

Nov 18 (Reuters) - London stocks fell on Tuesday as financials extended losses, with global markets wary as diminishing hopes of a Federal Reserve interest rate cut left investors cautious before key economic data.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 slid 1.4% by 12:40 GMT in a widespread sell-off, heading toward its fourth consecutive session in negative territory.

The mid-cap FTSE 250 declined 1.2%, and is poised to mark its fifth consecutive day of losses.

Banking shares led the downturn, with the sector falling 3.3% as Barclays (BCS), HSBC (HSBC), and Standard Chartered (SCBFF) dropped between 3.1% and 3.6%, weighing heavily on the FTSE 100.

Industrial miners also faced pressure, with Anglo American leading declines at 3.6%, while Rio Tinto and Glencore (GLCNF) fell 2.1% and 1.1%, respectively, as copper prices extended their previous session's losses.

Precious metal miners tumbled 2.6% as gold prices hit a one-week low.

Travel and leisure stocks shed 2%, mirroring similar weakness across European counterparts amid escalating geopolitical tensions between China and Japan.

Market sentiment worldwide remains dominated by concerns over elevated tech valuations and increasing scepticism about a potential Fed rate cut in December. Investors are now focused on upcoming U.S. economic data releases, which had been delayed by the recently ended government shutdown.

In the UK, traders are awaiting this week's inflation report, while the next government budget announcement is scheduled for next week.

Among individual movers, public transport operator FirstGroup (FGROF) plunged 14.2% after reporting a 4% decline in underlying passenger volumes in its First Bus unit for the first half of 2025.

Bucking the negative trend, cigarette maker Imperial Brands (IMBBF) gained 1.3% after reporting annual profit that exceeded analyst expectations.

Asset manager Intermediate Capital Group rose 5.1% following news that Europe's largest asset manager Amundi would acquire a 9.9% stake in the company.

Convenience food producer Greencore (GNCGF) jumped 5.6% after reporting full-year adjusted operating profit of 125.7 million pounds ($165.37 million), up from 97.5 million pounds the previous year.

($1 = 0.7601 pounds) (Reporting by Utkarsh Tushar Hathi; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)