Investing.com - London's stock market slipped lower along with other European stocks on Thursday, as investors remained cautious ahead of the Bank of England's monetary policy decision due later in the trading session.
During European morning trade, London's FTSE 100 was down 0.12% by 03:40 a.m. ET (07:40 GMT).
Later Thursday, the BoE was expected to leave its monetary policy unchanged but it could however give indications on the future pace of interest rates, after strong inflation data published earlier in the week boosted expectations for a more hawkish stance from the central bank.
Market participants also continued to monitor political developments in the U.S. amid growing hopes a tax reform could soon be implemented by the administration, after U.S. President Donald Trump reached out to both Democrats and Republicans this week.
The FTSE was weighed by Provident Financial (LON:PFG), whose shares plummeted 4.96% amid reports Cabot Credit Management’s planned £1 billion initial public offering has been delayed due to the resignation from its board of Provident's former boss.
The company's former chief executive Peter Crook stepped down as a director on September 8.
WM Morrison Supermarkets PLC (LON:MRW) added to losses, with shares tumbling 2.90% after the company reported its seventh consecutive quarter of like-for-like sales growth in the first half of the year.
Mining stocks were also lower on the commodity-heavy index. Shares in BHP Billiton (LON:BLT) declined 1.46% and Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) retreated 1.71%, while rival company Glencore (LON:GLEN) tumbled 1.87%.
The financial sector was on the downside, as the Royal Bank of Scotland (LON:RBS) and HSBC Holdings (LON:HSBA) slipped 0.08% and 0.19% respectively, while Lloyds Banking (LON:LLOY) dropped 0.55% and Barclays (LON:BARC) slid 0.70%.
Meanwhile, clothing company Next plc (LON:NXT) was one of the top performers on the index, with shares soaring 9.04% after the retailer said first half profits and sales declined but it raised its full year guidance.
Elsewhere, the EURO STOXX 50 fell 0.31%, France’s CAC 40 lost 0.22%, while Germany’s DAX 30 edged down 0.22%.
Financial stocks were broadly lower, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PA:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PA:SOGN) slipped 0.14% and 0.37%, while Germany's Commerzbank (DE:CBKG) and Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) fell 0.24% and 0.76%.
Among peripheral lenders however, Intesa Sanpaolo (MI:ISP) gained 0.37% and Unicredit (MI:CRDI) dropped 0.45% in Italy, while BBVA (MC:BBVA) inched up 0.07% and Banco Santander (MC:SAN) lost 0.11% in Spain.
Elsewhere, Volkswagen (DE:VOWG_p) shares climbed 0.53% despite news the German carmaker and its joint venture partners in China will have to recall 4.86 million vehicles in the country due to faulty airbags.
Continental AG (DE:CONG) added to gains, with shares rallying 1.29% after the German manufacturer unveiled two prototype tire technologies that allow tires to send information to the driver and adapt to different road conditions.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a steady to lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.03% dip, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.09% loss, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.11% fall.