UK Stocks Dip as Banks, Miners Weigh

The FTSE 100 fell in the reported sessions, with banks and mining or other commodity-linked shares among the main drags; the FTSE 250 also declined. High oil prices and political uncertainty weighed on investor sentiment, while resilient UK labor-market data kept expectations alive for a Bank of England rate increase next month, raising the prospect of rates staying higher for longer. Investors also assessed corporate earnings: Barclays shares dropped after the bank announced AI-driven job cuts and reported disappointing bond-trading performance. Gains in pharmaceutical and consumer stocks, including AstraZeneca, GSK and Unilever, partly cushioned losses in one session.