London's FTSE 100 hits new peak as soft jobs data raises rate cut bets

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FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 up 0.8%

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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

(Updates to market close)

By Tharuniyaa Lakshmi

Feb 17 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 ?closed at a new peak on Tuesday, as signs ?of a cooling British 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 0.8% to 10,556.17 points, ?marking a record high, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 rose ?0.8% to trade at ?a four-year high.

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 0.6% against the dollar as investors priced in a roughly 80% chance of a quarter-point Bank of England ?rate cut, up from 65% on ?Monday.

"We expect ?two rate cuts by summer, one in March and another in June, which fits with a gently weakening labour market and softer inflation that should ?allow the Bank of England to support the economy," said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior ?analyst at Swissquote Bank.

"Part of the FTSE's outperformance today reflects the expectations that the Bank of England will give further support to the UK economy."

January consumer prices data on Wednesday could offer more clues on the bank's monetary policy path.

Meanwhile, geopolitical tensions ?eased somewhat ?as Iran and the United States reached an understanding on ?main "guiding principles" in talks aimed at resolving their nuclear dispute.

Defence stocks came under pressure ?on expectations of weaker demand, while precious-metal miners dipped 2.8% amid a softer appetite for safe-haven assets.

Miner Antofagasta (ANFGF) posted a 52% jump in annual core profit, but its shares dropped 3.4% on weak copper prices.

Technology stocks rose 2.2% following last week's artificial intelligence-related turbulence in global markets, with information group RELX (RELX) and credit analytics firm Experian (EXPGF) up more than 2% each.

Plus500 fell 5.2% 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) rose 1.1% 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 and Chris Reese)