BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - U.K. stocks fell on Tuesday after data showed U.K. retail sales declined slightly in March.
The like-for-like sales dropped 0.4 percent in March from the previous year as consumer confidence continued to weaken, the British Retail Consortium said. Total sales grew 3.1 percent, underpinned by non-food sales.
The U.K. unemployment declined in three months to February while job vacancies rose to a new record high, the Office for National Statistics said separately.
The jobless rate fell 0.2 percent points from the previous quarter to 3.8 percent in three months to February - coming in line with expectations.
The employment rate was largely unchanged at 75.5 percent, remaining below the pre-pandemic level. while the number of job vacancies rose to a new record 1,288,000 in January to March period.
The benchmark FTSE 100 was down 28 points, or 0.4 percent, at 7,590 after closing 0.7 percent lower the previous day.
easyJet climbed 0.7 percent. The budget airline said it expects capacity to rise to near pre-pandemic levels this summer.
Online fashion retailer ASOS surged 4.7 percent after maintaining its full-year guidance.
Electrocomponents added 1.7 percent after its like-for-like revenue for fiscal 2022 grew 23 percent over the fourth quarter.
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