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The FTSE 100 was down 0.3% by midday as inflation rose to a 10-year high raising expectations for a hike in UK interest rates.
This in turn lifted the pound, hitting the relative value of constituents' overseas earnings which dominate the index.
The UK consumer price index rose 4.2% in September, according to the Office for National Statistics, above expectations of a 3.9% increase and putting the Bank of England under more pressure to raise rates.
Power utility SSE slumped 6.6% to £15.485 despite its its first-half profit more than doubling, as higher earnings at its distribution and transmission businesses offset a loss at its renewables unit.
SSE declared an interim dividend of 25.5p per share, up 4.5% from 24.4p year-on-year. It forecast full-year adjusted earnings per share 'at least in line' with the consensus analysts' forecast of 83p.
Miner and commodities trader Glencore softened 0.2% to 362.9p after it agreed to sell its stake in the Ernest Henry copper and gold mine in Australia to Evolution for A$1 billion.
Glencore also agreed to buy copper and gold from the mine as part of the deal.
Information services company Experian lost 0.9% to £34.82, even as it reported a 43% jump in first-half profit, led by growth in its consumer services business.
Experian declared an interim dividend of 16c per share, up 10% year-on-year. It forecast full-year revenue growth of 15-17% and 'strong' margin accretion.
Construction components supplier Tyman slipped 2.4% to 395.3p after it downgraded its annual earnings guidance, citing global supply-chain challenges.
Tyma's adjusted profit for the year through December was now expected to be 'marginally below' consensus, even as revenue in the 10 months through October jumped 12% year-on-year.
Thermal energy management and pumping specialist Spirax‐Sarco Engineering dropped 4.6% to £16.225 after it said it still expected to report record annual profits, but warned that supply-chain issues were hurting margins.
Spirax‐Sarco said all three of its businesses had been impacted by shipment delays, but particularly its Watson-Marlow and electric thermal solutions units. It also flagged FX headwinds.
Convenience store group McColl's Retail plunged 27% to 13.16p, having downgraded its annual earnings guidance, blaming supply-chain challenges.
McColl's adjusted operating earnings for the year through December were now expected in the range of £20 million-to-£22 million.
Property developer and investor British Land fell 0.3% to 531.63p even as it swung to a £373 million pre-tax profit in the first half, underpinned by gains in the underlying value of its portfolio.
British Land declared an interim dividend of 10.32p per share, up from a 8.4p year-on-year.
Online broker CMC Markets shed 4.5% to 259.22p after more subdued trading activity brought its first-half profits down 75%.
CMS Markets slashed its interim dividend to 3.5p per share, down from 9.2p year-on-year.
Business software group Sage climbed 0.9% to 735.6p despite having reported a 7% fall in annual profit owing to increased investment spending and lower sales.
Looking forward, Sage forecast organic revenue growth in the current financial year of 8-9%.
Publishing and exhibitions group Informa slumped 4.7% to 497.76p even as it reiterated its guidance amid 'strong' growth in subscriptions-led businesses and improving momentum across B2B.
Informa was still expecting full-year adjusted operating profit of about £375 million and revenue of about £1.8 billion.
Office rental group Workspace added 0.8% to 868.5p as it swung to a modest first-half profit and reinstated its interim dividend, after an easing of pandemic lockdowns helped boost rental income.
Its pre-tax profit for the six months through September amounted to £3.4 million, compared to a year-on-year loss of £110.4 million. Workspace reinstated its interim dividend at 7p per share.
Storage group Safestore gained 1.4% to £12.78 on nudging up its annual earnings guidance after it grew its fourth-quarter revenue by 19%.
Full-year earnings were anticipated to be slightly ahead of previous guidance of 39.5p to 40p of adjusted diluted EPRA earnings per share.
Tools and equipment rental group Speedy Hire firmed 5.6% to 67.4p, having swung to a first-half profit and upgraded its annual guidance, as construction markets recovered following an easing of lockdowns.
Speedy Hire reinstated its interim dividend at 0.75p per share. It said its full-year results were expected to be 'ahead' of current market expectations.