FTSE 100 Subdued As Pound Rises On Bets Of Aggressive Fed Rate Cut

(RTTNews) - U.K. stocks were marginally lower on Monday as a rising British pound weighed on export-oriented companies.

Investors also shifted focus to a slew of key central bank rate decisions this week, including the Bank of England's interest-rate announcement due on Thursday.

The benchmark FTSE 100 was down 3 points at 8,269 after gaining 0.4 percent on Friday.

The pound rose to its highest in more than a week and gold prices hovered near record levels as investors raised their bets of a more aggressive Federal Reserve rate cut on Wednesday.

In corporate news, insurer Phoenix Group Holdings tumbled 3.6 percent after dropping the sale process of its SunLife business.

Playtech jumped 8 percent. The gambling technology firm said it expects 2024 adjusted core profit to be slightly ahead of market expectations.