BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - U.K. stocks fell on Friday as soaring U.S. inflation fueled bets of more aggressive rate hikes.
Closer home, the U.K. economy expanded at a steady pace in the fourth quarter, the Office for National Statistics said earlier in the day.
Gross domestic product grew 1 percent sequentially, the same pace of expansion as seen in the third quarter. Economists had forecast a quarterly growth of 1.1 percent.
On a yearly basis, GDP grew 6.5 percent, slightly faster than the 6.4 percent expansion expected by economists.
The benchmark FTSE 100 fell 66 points, or 0.9 percent, to 7,606 after rising 0.4 percent on Thursday.
Valve maker Spirax-Sarco lost 3 percent after a brokerage downgrade.
British American Tobacco rose 0.7 percent after it reported a 7 per cent rise in full-year adjusted revenue.
Lancashire Holdings, a provider of insurance and reinsurance products, was marginally higher despite slumping to a 2021 pre-tax loss of $56.8mn.
Tate & Lyle jumped 6.7 percent after the provider of food-and-beverage ingredients raised full-year expectations for continuing operations.
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