Credit: REUTERS/PETER NICHOLLSFor a live blog on European stocks, type LIVE/ in an Eikon news window
Rolls-Royce hits more than three-week low after underlying loss
U.S. Fed Chair to kick off Jackson Hole Symposium
Ad firm WPP jumps on resuming dividend
OneSavings Bank tops mid-cap index after results
FTSE 100 down 0.3%, FTSE 250 up 0.1%
Adds comments, updates prices
By Sagarika Jaisinghani
Aug 27 (Reuters) - London's FTSE 100 retreated on Thursday as earnings updates from firms including Rolls-Royce underlined the extent of the corporate damage from the COVID-19 pandemic ahead of the annual Jackson Hole central bankers' conference later in the day.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 .FTSE fell 0.3%, with banks .FTNMX8350, insurers .FTNMX8530 and energy stocks .FTNMX0530 leading the declines.
Rolls-Royce RR.L tumbled 7.3% to a more than three-week low after sinking to a first-half underlying loss before tax of 3.2 billion pounds ($4.2 billion). The wider aero and defence index .FTNMX2710 lost 1.8%.
All eyes are now on U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's address at the virtual Jackson Hole Symposium, where he is expected to outline a more flexible approach to policy, including targeting an average inflation rate of around 2% that will allow rates to stay super-low for longer. MKTS/GLOB
"Something like that could ... prove positive for equities, as it would mean extra-loose monetary policy for longer," said Charalambos Pissouros, market analyst at JFD Group.
Trillions of dollars in stimulus has sent global equity benchmarks back to their pre-pandemic highs, but the UK's FTSE 100 is still about 21% below that level as the economy struggles to recover from a record crash in the second quarter.
Data on Thursday showed British car production rose sharply in July but is still well below last year's level, while another set of figures showed firms in the services industry cut jobs rapidly in the three months to August to ride out the pandemic.
A 13.8% surge in OneSavings Bank OSBO.L helped the mid-cap FTSE 250 .FTMC rise 0.1% as the specialist mortgage lender reported a 2% rise in its underlying net loan book.
Hays Plc HAYS.L, one of the world's biggest recruitment agencies, rose 1% even as it posted a 12% fall in annual net fees, while advertising company WPP WPP.L jumped 4% as it resumed its dividend after beating dire forecasts for second-quarter trading.
(Reporting by Sagarika Jaisinghani in Bengaluru; editing by Uttaresh.V)
((Sagarika.Jaisinghani@thomsonreuters.com; within U.S. +1 646 223 8780; outside U.S. +91 80 6182 2256;))
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
