FTSE 100 closes lower as Wall St mood sours

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FTSE 100 down 0.6%; FTMC up 0.1%

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Weak British GDP data fuels rate-cut bets

(Updates to market close)

Dec 12 (Reuters) - London's FTSE 100 fell on Friday, as a sell-off on Wall Street fuelled by AI angst spoiled the mood across European markets.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 dipped 0.6%, retreating from gains of as much as 0.6%. The mid-cap FTSE 250 index edged up 0.1%, also pulling back from early highs.

Both indexes recorded a second consecutive week of declines.

U.S. stocks tumbled as chipmaker Broadcom's latest results added to concerns about a potential AI bubble, dampening optimism stoked by the Federal Reserve's less hawkish signals on the path of interest rates in 2026.

British stocks were earlier buoyed by a surge in precious metal miners on the back of a rally in gold and silver prices.

The FTSE 350 index of precious metal miners jumped 5% to a record high before cutting gains. It closed up just 0.8%.

Attention now turns to the Bank of England monetary policy meeting next week, with markets pricing in a 90% chance of a 25 basis points rate cut following signs of a cooling labour market and inflation.

Data on Friday showed Britain's economy shrank unexpectedly in the three months to October, losing momentum in the fraught run-up to finance minister Rachel Reeves' budget, further supporting expectations for a rate cut.

Among stocks, InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) rose 2% after Jefferies upgraded the Holiday Inn owner to "buy" from "hold".

WH Smith (WHTPF) fell 2.1% after the travel retailer delayed the publication of its preliminary annual results for the second time.

Card Factory plunged 27.4% after the greeting cards and gifts retailer warned of a drop in annual profit due to lower-than-expected UK store sales and expectations that weak high street footfall could persist over the festive weeks.

Harbour Energy (PMOIF) rose 3.3% after the oil and gas producer said it had agreed to acquire all subsidiaries of Waldorf Energy Partners and Waldorf Production for $170 million. (Reporting by Tharuniyaa Lakshmi and Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber and Alex Richardson)