UK shares inch lower as stronger pound, consumer spending data weigh

London’s FTSE 100 fell on Tuesday after a solid start to the week, as a stronger pound pressured exporters, while data showed a nationwide lockdown hurt consumer spending in February.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 index fell 0.2%, dragged down by mining stocks, including Rio Tinto (LON:RIO), Anglo American (LON:AAL) and BHP, falling between 2.6% and 3.5%.

Bank stocks, HSBC Holdings (LON:HSBA), Lloyds Banking (LON:LLOY) group, and Barclays (LON:BARC) Plc were also among the laggards.

British consumers cut back heavily on spending as they spent a second month in a COVID-19 lockdown in February but confidence in the economy hit a 12-month high, payment card firm Barclaycard said.

The domestically focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index fell 0.1%, led by declines in communication services stocks.

World’s largest inter-dealer broker TP ICAP (LON:NXGN) Plc fell 2.7%, after it halved its dividend citing a one-off reduction, and said first-quarter revenue might be lower compared to 2020.

Cairn Energy slumped 7.0%, after agreeing to sell its interests in the UK Catcher and Kraken oil fields in the North Sea to Waldorf Production Ltd for $460 million in cash.