BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - U.K. stocks fell slightly on Thursday as markets took a breather after recent sharp gains on hopes for a swift economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.
Investors kept an eye on the Brexit talks which started on Tuesday and awaited the outcome of a European Central Bank meeting for directional cues.
The benchmark FTSE 100 dropped 25 points, or 0.38 percent, to 6,357 after gaining 2.6 percent on Wednesday.
HSBC Holdings fell about 1 percent while Standard Chartered gained 0.8 percent after they backed China's imposition of a national security law on Hong Kong.
Intermediate Capital Group tumbled 3.3 percent. The asset manager reported a rise in net assets, but profit fell 37 percent for the year ended 31 March.
Rolls Royce Holding gave up 3.5 percent. The engineering giant, which makes jet engines, said it would slash more than 3,000 jobs in the U.K. due to the coronavirus pandemic.
BP Plc and Royal Dutch Shell were moving lower as oil prices declined on concerns that major producers will be unable to agree to extend the record level of output cuts that have supported the recent gains.
In economic releases, the U.K. construction sector downturn eased in May reflecting a gradual reopening of construction sites as lockdown measures introduced to curb the spread of coronavirus, were eased in England, survey data from IHS Markit showed.
The IHS Markit/Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply construction Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 28.9 in May from 8.2 in April. This was the second-lowest score since February 2009.
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