BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - U.K. stocks traded lower on Wednesday, with mixed earnings updates and caution ahead of the Fed and ECB meetings keeping underlying sentiment cautious.
The benchmark FTSE 100 was down 21 points, or 0.3 percent, at 7,671 after rising 0.2 percent in the previous session.
Mining giant Rio Tinto dropped 1.7 percent after reporting its lowest first-half year profits since the pandemic.
Lender Lloyds Banking Group lost 2.2 percent after first-half profit missed expectations.
NatWest gave up nearly 3 percent. CEO Alison Rose quit today after admitting a 'serious error of judgment' in speaking to a reporter about the banking affairs of arch-Brexiteer Nigel Farage.
On the positive side, aircraft-engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce jumped more than 18 percent after unexpectedly raising its full-year operating profit forecast by around 45 percent.
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