GSK rises after settlement of 80,000 Zantac litigations
Precious metal miners jump on gold surge
FTSE 100 down 0.1, FTSE 250 off 0.6

Oct 10 Reuters The UK39;s main stock indexes slipped on Thursday as some of the companies traded without the entitlement of their dividend payouts, while GSK shares jumped following the settlement of its lawsuits in the United States.

The bluechip FTSE 100 index was down 0.1, while the midcap FTSE 250 fell 0.6.

Tesco, WPP, Taylor Wimpey, Kingfisher dragged the benchmark index lower, falling between 1.45, as they traded without entitlement to their latest dividend payout.

Broadly, the household goods and home construction sector extended its weakness for a fourth straight session, down 2.5, and led declines.

GSK surged 2.3 after it agreed to pay up to 2.2 billion to settle most lawsuits in U.S. state courts claiming that a discontinued version of the heartburn drug Zantac caused cancer.

Gains in the drugmaker pushed the broader pharma and biotech index higher by 0.8.

Precious metal miners emerged as the top gainers of the session, rising 2.7, after gold prices climbed as traders added to bets that the Federal Reserve will deliver another rate cut next month following the latest U.S. data.

The U.S. consumer price index CPI rose higherthanexpected at 0.2 in September on a monthly basis, keeping the bets intact for a 25basispoint rate cut by the U.S. central bank.

Back home, Britain39;s housing market recovered further last month,…