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* FTSE 100 tracks best quarterly win streak since March 2017
* Boohoo drops after warning inflation troubles would hurt
margins
* UK's Q2 GDP growth beats analyst expectations
* FTSE 100 down 0.1%, FTSE 250 off 0.1%
(Updates to close)
By Shashank Nayar and Bansari Mayur Kamdar
Sept 30 (Reuters) - London's FTSE 100 fell on Thursday,
coming under pressure from a stronger pound, while fashion
retailer Boohoo slumped to a 14-month low after it warned higher
inflation would hurt margins.
The internationally focussed FTSE 100 index ended
down 0.1% after having gained as much as 0.7% earlier in the
session as the dollar earners in the index took a hit from
sterling's strong gains.
Retailer Boohoo dropped 15.1% after it warned that
freight inflation in its supply chain and higher wages for
workers would impact full-year profit margins.
"This is not Boohoo's best look. It is spending heavily on
increasing capacity and if sales don't grow to match it, it will
have serious implications for profits," said Sophie Lund-Yates,
an analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.
The FTSE 100 has gained nearly 10% so far this year, helped
by optimism over economic recovery, robust corporate earnings
and dovish central bank policies.
However, a recent rise in inflation due to supply chain
constraints and higher oil prices have raised interest rate hike
bets, weighing on equity markets globally.
"Initially, it felt like UK's economic recovery was going
well and that there was a huge amount of (monetary) control
built in, but it now feels like prices are getting out of hand,"
said Danni Hewson, an analyst at AJ Bell.
Limiting further losses on the FTSE 100 were industrial
miners, up 2.0% tracking a jump in iron ore
prices, driven by hopes of a recovery in Chinese demand.
The domestically focussed mid-cap index shed 0.1%,
with travel & leisure stocks leading declines,
and recorded its worst monthly performance since March 2020.
Meanwhile, data showed the UK's gross domestic product grew
more strongly than previously thought in the second quarter.
AstraZeneca shares climbed 1.4% after its COVID-19
vaccine showed 74% efficacy at preventing symptomatic disease in
a U.S. trial.
Whiskey maker Diageo Plc rose 1.3% after it forecast
a boost to operating margins on the back of higher spending on
premium brands and at restaurants and bars.
(Reporting by Bansari Mayur Kamdar and Amal S; Editing by
Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Ramakrishnan M., William Maclean)
