Metro Bank gains after announcing job cuts
Dr Martens tanks on dour FY forecast
FTSE 100 flat, FTSE 250 off 0.6

Nov 30 Reuters UK39;s exporterheavy FTSE 100 was muted on Thursday as energy giants rose tracking higher crude prices, somewhat countering broader market weakness while investors waited for an inflation data reading in the United States.

Paring initial gains, the bluechip FTSE 100 held steady at 7424.45 points, hitting its lowest level since November 14 intraday, while the FTSE 250 midcap index lost 0.6.

Personal goods led declines amongst the major FTSE 350 sectors as Dr Martens slumped 26.4 after the bootmaker forecast its annual revenue to decline and profit to be below market expectations.

The domesticallyfocussed midcap and the FTSE Small Cap index eye sharp monthly gains as the pound rallied against the dollar this month, while the bluechip FTSE 100 was set for marginal gains.

The greenback has been losing steam as bets grow that the U.S. Federal Reserve was likely done with interest rate hikes.

The base case for investors remains that the hiking cycle is complete, although there is still some light between the consensus of rate cuts towards the middle of next year and the Fed39;s own mantra of higher for longer, said Richard Hunter, head of markets at interactive investor.

Adding to the selling pressure, yields on British government bonds rose on Thursday, while the pound also lost ground.

Helping limit losses, oil and gas edged up 0.6 as…