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* Bloomsbury jumps on dividend raise
* Sunak upgrades UK growth forecast
* Pub operators gain as alcohol duty scrapped
* FTSE 100 down 0.3%, FTSE 250 adds 0.1%
(Updates to close)
By Bansari Mayur Kamdar
Oct 27 (Reuters) - The United Kingdom's blue-chip share
index slipped on Wednesday and midcap stocks gained ground after
British finance minister Rishi Sunak forecast faster growth and
lower borrowing as the economy bounces back from the coronavirus
pandemic.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index ended 0.3% lower,
weighed by weakness in miners and insurance firms
. The domestically-orientated FTSE 250 index
inched up 0.1%, led by pub operators.
J D Wetherspoon, Mitchells & Butlers and
City Pub Group rose between 1.5% and 5.9% after Sunak
scrapped a planned increase in duty on alcohol worth about 3
billion pounds ($4 billion) and simplified taxes.
Overall market moves were limited as Sunak used his
half-yearly budget statement to announce multi-billion-pound
investments, but forecasters said the government's tax take was
on course to be its biggest since the 1950s.
"There have been several winners in today's budget – retail,
leisure and hospitality companies in particular as they benefit
from 50% discount on business rates for the next year, and
simplified alcohol taxes," said Emma Wall, head of investment
analysis at Hargreaves Lansdown.
"However, with the minimum wage up it's not all good news
for restaurants, bars and shops, coming off the back of a torrid
couple of years."
Sunak also vowed to protect households from rising
inflation. Investors are expecting the Bank of England to raise
interest rates next week for the first time since the start of
the pandemic amid soaring fuel costs and labour
shortages.
Among individual stocks, GlaxoSmithKline rose 0.5
after the pharmaceutical company lifted its annual profit
forecast following strong third-quarter results.
Harry Potter publisher Bloomsbury Publishing
increased its dividend after reporting a strong rise in
half-year revenue and profit, pushing its stock up 4.3%.
Miners Glencore, Rio Tinto and Anglo
American fell between 1.5% and 2.3%, while weaker crude
prices hit oil majors BP and Royal Dutch Shell.
Precious metals miner Fresnillo Plc slipped 3.5%
after reporting a fall in gold and silver production for the
quarter.
(Reporting by Bansari Mayur Kamdar, Sruthi Shankar and Amal S
in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Vinay Dwivedi and
Kirsten Donovan)
