Aviva falls on brokerage downgrade
Halfords Group sinks after narrowing FY profit forecast range
FTSE 100 down 0.1, FTSE 250 adds 0.4

Nov 29 Reuters UK39;s FTSE 100 slipped on Wednesday, lagging other regional markets in Europe after hawkish comments from the Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey, while insurance heavyweights Aviva and Prudential fell following bearish brokerage comments.

The bluechip FTSE 100 index dipped 0.1, while the panEuropean STOXX 600 rose 0.5.

The life insurance sector fell 0.4, with Prudential slipping 0.7 after Deutsche Bank reduced its price target on the stock.

Aviva dropped 1.2 after the bank downgraded the stock to hold from buy.

BoE Governor Andrew Bailey, meanwhile, said that the central bank will do what it takes to get inflation down to its 2 target, adding that he had not yet seen enough progress towards that goal to be confident.

The pound slipped but hovered near a threemonth high. Meanwhile, the dollar ticked up after hopes that the U.S. Federal Reserve will soon be cutting rates dragged the greenback to its lowest in more than three months.

If you look at the interest rate pricing, many investors are thinking that rates have peaked. However, there is a big difference in terms of rates peaking and remaining higher for longer, said Eddie Cheng, head of international multiasset portfolio management at Allspring Global Investments.

This is where the market and the central banks have a huge discrepancy.

Banks slipped 1.7…