FTSE 100 falls for third day as Frasers, LSEG weigh

By Johann M Cherian and Shristi Achar A

(Reuters) -Britain's FTSE 100 fell for a third straight session on Thursday after some downbeat company updates and as investors await key central bank meetings next week.

Frasers Group slumped 9% to the bottom of FTSE 100 after the sportswear and clothing firm warned of a challenging and uncertain outlook despite an upbeat half-yearly profit.

The stock was the biggest drag on the retailers index, which shed 1.9%.

"The company is unlikely to be immune to the recessionary headwinds whipping up," said Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.

Overall, global stocks struggled for direction amid growing concerns of a recession, with investors looking ahead to policy decisions from the Federal Reserve and the Bank of England.

"Investor sentiment is fairly fragile into the moment. It's not getting any reinforcement of the hopes that the pair will continue to ease back (on policy)," Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG Group, said.

The Bank of England is likely to add another 50 basis points to the bank rate and take borrowing costs to 3.5% as it battles inflation running at more than five times its target, a Reuters poll found.

The Fed is also widely expected to hike next week.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 dipped 0.2%, with London Stock Exchange Group sliding 6.4% after UBS downgraded it to "neutral".

Meanwhile, BAT dropped 3.1% after the tobacco firm said it expects net finance costs to top 1.6 bln pounds ($1.95 bln) in 2022.

The midcap FTSE 250 rose 0.1%, with Wizz Air gaining 4.3% after BofA Global Research upgraded the stock to "buy" as it forecast a rebound in travel demand.

(Reporting by Johann M Cherian and Shristi Achar A in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty, Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Alexander Smith)