(For a live blog on European stocks, type LIVE/ in an Eikon
news window)
* FTSE 100, FTSE 250 both down 0.2%
Aug 27 (Reuters) - London-listed shares retreated on
Thursday as earnings updates from firms including Rolls-Royce
underlined the extent of the corporate damage from the COVID-19
pandemic ahead of the annual Jackson Hole central bankers'
conference later in the day.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 .FTSE and the mid-cap FTSE 250
.FTMC fell 0.2% each, with banks .FTNMX8350 , insurers
.FTNMX8530 and real estate stocks .FTUB8600 leading the
declines.
Rolls-Royce RR.L tumbled 5.9% after sinking to a
first-half underlying loss before tax of 3.2 billion pounds
($4.2 billion). The wider aero and defence index .FTNMX2710
lost 1.4%. Hays Plc HAYS.L , one of the world's biggest recruitment
agencies, rose 0.9% even as it posted a 12% fall in annual net
fees and saying it expected to cut more jobs this quarter.
Investors are now awaiting an address by U.S. Federal
Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to kick off the virtual Jackson Hole
Symposium later on Thursday. Bank of England chief Andrew Bailey
is scheduled to speak at the meeting on Friday.