By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Most U.K. stocks dropped and the pound
rose on Friday after Bank of England Governor Mark Carney
reportedly said he sees no need for further bond-buying to spur the
U.K. economy.
The FTSE 100 index gave up 0.3% to 6,547.94, on track for a 0.7%
weekly loss.
Meanwhile, the pound (GBPUSD) jumped against most major
currencies, trading at $1.6072 from $1.6039 on late Thursday.
The moves came after the BOE boss told the Yorkshire Post that
the case for expanding the central bank's bond-buying program has
weakened as the economy has started to pick up.
"My personal view is, given the recovery has strengthened and
broadened, I don't see a case for quantitative easing and I have
not supported it," he told the paper.
He said, however, that the central bank would consider more
quantitative easing if the recovery falters.
Underlining Carney's point about the recovery, market research
firm GfK said consumer confidence in the U.K. rose to -10 in
September from -13 in August, marking the highest level since
2007.
The upbeat data weren't, however, enough to lift the U.K.'s
benchmark index, partly due to drops for the mining firms on the
back of mostly weaker metals prices. Shares of Anglo American PLC
fell 1.9%, Rio Tinto PLC (RIO) dropped 2%, and BHP Billiton PLC
(BHP) gave up 1.6%.
Banks were also broadly lower, with shares of Barclays PLC (BCS)
0.9% lower, Standard Chartered PLC down 0.3% and heavyweight HSBC
Holdings PLC (HBC) off 0.1%.
On a more upbeat note, shares of Bunzl PLC climbed 1.7% after
Goldman Sachs lifted the distribution and outsourcing company to
neutral from sell.
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