Investing.com - U.K. stock markets traded in a cautious manner Wednesday, as investors digested the ongoing U.S. debt ceiling uncertainty as well as some disappointing corporate news.
At 04:55 ET (08:55 GMT), the benchmark FTSE 100 index traded 0.1% higher, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 dropped 0.5% and the combined FTSE 350 fell 0.1%.
The looming U.S. debt ceiling deadline and the potential for a catastrophic U.S. debt default has resulted in cautious trading globally, with the U.K. indices following the weak close on Wall Street overnight.
Talks between U.S. President Joe Biden and Republican Kevin McCarthy, the speaker of the House of Representatives, failed to come up with a deal on Tuesday.
Back in the U.K., car registrations slumped over 50% on the month in April, illustrating the economic difficulties the country is facing as consumers tighten their purse strings to combat soaring inflation.
The U.K. must do more to support risk-takers, said the ambassador for the City of London earlier Wednesday, with his comments coming amid concern among some that the City is in danger of losing its global preeminence after Brexit.
In corporate news, London Stock Exchange (LON:LSEG) stock fell 4.3% after an investor consortium, including U.S. buyout firm Blackstone (NYSE:BX) and Thomson Reuters (TSX:TRI), sold 33 million shares in the group at a discount to the previous close.
JD Sports Fashion (LON:JD) stock slumped 3.9% after the sports fashion retailer announced that its full-year profit dropped by almost a third after taking a hefty £550 million (£1 = $1.2442) charge.
However, it was all bad news as the company said it expected profit to exceed £1 billion for the first time this year on growing demand for its produce from younger shoppers.
Experian (LON:EXPN) stock fell 4.9% after the consumer credit reporting company’s profit took a hit from a goodwill impairment, even as it forecast steady annual organic revenue growth between 4% and 6%.
British Land (LON:BLND) stock fell 4.7% after the real estate investment trust company recorded a £1B pretax loss as the value of its property portfolio slumped in a “volatile” economic and political year.
Elsewhere, Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey is scheduled to speak later in the session, and investors will be looking for clues on his thinking with regard to further rate hikes.
The central bank raised its key interest rate by 25 basis points last week to try and combat headline inflation in double digits, by far the highest of any major industrial nation.
"We have to stay the course to make sure inflation falls all the way back to the 2% target," he said at a press conference last week.