FTSE 100 down 0.7, FTSE 250 off 0.9
Gold miners lead declines, Centamin weighs on sector
Unilever surges after H1 profit beat

July 25 Reuters The FTSE 100 fell to its lowest in nearly three months on Thursday, pressured by gold miners, while Unilever surged after beating profit estimates for the first half.

The bluechip FTSE 100 index was down 0.7 by 0719 GMT, and the midcap FTSE 250 was off 0.9.

Most major subsectors fell, as investors digested market movements and a slew of corporate updates.

Precious metal miners lead declines on the FTSE 100 with a 4.7 decline. Gold miners Fresnillo and Endeavour Mining slipped over 3 each, as spot gold prices tumbled on profitbooking.

Centamin slipped 8 to the bottom of the FTSE 250 after it announced its interim results and left its 2024 outlook unchanged.

Energy and industrial miners also fell 1.2 and 1.4 each, in tandem with oil and copper prices.

Industrial support services stocks trended 2.3 lower, weighed down by a 6.5 decline in Rentokil after the pestcontrol firm reported its interim halfyearly results.

Personal care, drug and grocery sector was the only outlier, gaining 3.8 on strength from Unilever. The Dove soap maker climbed 6.7 after it beat profit estimates for the first half of the year.

Globally, investor sentiment was dampened after big tech companies Alphabet and Tesla failed to impress investors, weighing on the techheavy Nasdaq and the SP 500.

Datawise, the U.S. personal consumption expenditures PCE…