UK's FTSE 100 inched lower on Monday, weighed down by losses in commodity-linked stocks, even as reports Prime Minister Rishi Sunak could extend a freeze on British foreign aid soothed some nerves.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 (.FTSE) slipped 0.1% by 0806 GMT, while the domestically oriented FTSE 250 (.FTMC) remained flat.
Mining (.FTNMX551020) and energy (.FTNMX601010) stocks fell 1% and 1.4%, respectively, as commodity prices declined on weaker-than-expected China factory activity data. Sunak might extend the foreign aid spending cut by another two years to 2026-2027 as the government draws up spending cuts and cancels tax cuts to ease the squeeze on household budgets caused by higher costs of living, according to a Telegraph report.
The government had cut its foreign aid spending two years ago to deal with the hit public finances took during the pandemic.
