FTSE 100 down 0.3, FTSE 250 off 0.8
London Stock Exchange tops FTSE post Microsoft deal
Oct. GDP fares better than expected

Dec 12 Reuters UK shares edged lower on Monday, dragged down by miners, with investors treading cautiously ahead of key interest rate decisions due later this week.

The bluechip FTSE 100 slipped 0.3, while the midcap FTSE 250 fell 0.8 by 0922 GMT.

Miners lost 0.8, tracking copper prices lower, while energy stocks fell 0.2, bogged down by losses in heavyweights such as Shell and BP.

Markets are gearing up for rate hikes of 50 basis points each by both the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Bank of England. ,

Given the central bank meetings this week, I highly doubt traders are going to be taking up large position and we do have a little bit of risk off sentiment, said Daniela Hathorn, senior market analyst at Capital.com.

Monthly and annual gross domestic product estimate was better than expected at 0.5 and 1.5, respectively, in October, with reports on inflation, manufacturing and unemployment also due this week that would give investors a better picture of the economy.

In the UK, good data is actually good because of current fears that the UK can actually be in a worse situation of a recession than the U.S., said Hathorn.

British challenger bank Metro and two of its former executives have been slapped with fines by the Financial Conduct Authority over reporting errors. Still, shares of Metro reversed early losses and were last up 3.8….