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* BAT up on sales jump, 2 bln share buyback
* UK economy shrank by less than feared in December
* FTSE 100 down 0.2%, FTSE 250 falls 0.7%
* Both indexes have best week so far in 2022
(Updates to market close)
By Shreyashi Sanyal
Feb 11 (Reuters) - UK shares ended lower on Friday, tracking
global markets betting on aggressive U.S. rate hikes, but the
main indexes still marked their best week so far in 2022 as data
showed Britain's economy suffered less than feared from the
Omicron coronavirus wave.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 slipped 0.2%, while the
mid-cap 250 fell 0.7%. The FTSE 100 has outperformed the
pan-European STOXX 600 index this year, thanks to its
heavy weighting towards banking and commodity stocks.
Despite weakness on the day, the FTSE 100 was up 1.9% and
the FTSE Mid 250 up 1.6% for the week.
Data showed Britain's economy shrank by a less-than-expected
0.2% in December, suggesting that - despite the setback caused
by the Omicron variant - GDP grew strongly across the fourth
quarter.
"The last month of the year wasn't all doom and gloom ...
and looking over the last quarter as a whole, there's plenty to
be positive about," said Danni Hewson, financial analyst at AJ
Bell.
Hewson added the question now was whether 2022 would see the
UK shake off December's blip or whether supply constraints and
rising prices would keep a lid on household consumption, which
has been a key factor in GDP growth.
The downbeat mood spilled over from Wall Street as investors
digested the possibility of aggressive U.S. rate hikes after
hawkish comments from St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President
James Bullard in the wake of the hottest U.S. inflation reading
in nearly 40 years.
British American Tobacco shares rose 3% after
posting a rise in full-year revenue along with a dividend
increase and a share repurchase programme worth 2 billion pounds
($2.71 billion) for 2022.
Valve maker Spirax-Sarco slid 3.8% after Jefferies
cut its target price, while food ingredient maker Tate & Lyle
jumped 9.5% on an upbeat earnings outlook.
($1 = 0.7381 pounds)
(Reporting by Shreyashi Sanyal and Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru
Editing by Rashmi Aich and Mark Potter)