FTSE 100 ticks up as soft jobs data raises rate cut bets; metal prices drag miners

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FTSE 100 up 0.2%, FTSE 250 down 0.1%

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Defence stocks drop on easing geopolitical tensions

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UK ?jobless rate rises, boosting BoE rate-cut bets

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Antofagasta (ANFGF) ?drops despite profit jump amid weaker copper prices

Feb 17 (Reuters) - London's FTSE 100 inched higher on Tuesday, as ?signs of a cooling labour market raised hopes of an interest rate ?cut next month, while a drop in metal prices pressured ?mining stocks. The blue-chip ?FTSE 100 rose 0.2% to 10,506.04 points, as of 1137 GMT, near a record high, while ?the mid-cap FTSE 250 dipped 0.1%. Britain's unemployment ?rate rose to 5.2%, its highest in over a decade outside the pandemic, while wage growth cooled again, according to Office ?for National Statistics data.

Sterling dipped 0.2% ?against ?the dollar as investors priced a roughly 80% chance of a quarter-point Bank of England rate cut, up from 65% on Monday. Following the ?data, Bank shares gained 0.3%.

January consumer prices data on Wednesday could ?offer more clues on the bank's monetary policy path. Meanwhile, sentiment around geopolitical tensions eased somewhat as U.S. and Iran began indirect talks in Geneva. U.S.-mediated discussions between Ukraine and Russia later in the day were slated to focus on ?disagreements ?over territory.

Defence stocks dropped 1.6% on expectations of weaker demand, ?while precious-metal miners also dipped amid a softer appetite for safe-haven assets.

Miner Antofagasta (ANFGF) ?posted a 52% jump in annual core profit, but its shares dropped 5% on weak copper prices.

Technology stocks rose 1.7% following last week's artificial intelligence-related turbulence in global markets, with information group RELX (RELX) and credit analytics firm Experian (EXPGF) up 2.3% and 1.3% respectively. Plus500 fell 6.4% to the bottom of the mid-cap index after the multi-asset trading ?platform said its CEO, CFO and CMO would sell an aggregate 1.5 million shares of the company. InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) fell 1.3% even after the Holiday Inn-owner ?posted fourth-quarter global revenue per available ?room above market expectations. (Reporting by Tharuniyaa Lakshmi in ?Bengaluru; Editing by Harikrishnan Nair)