• FTSE 100 down 0.3%, FTSE 250 down 0.4%
• Glencore drops on lower 2024 earnings
• Trainline slides after JP Morgan downgrades

Feb 19 (Reuters) - Britain's benchmark index fell on Wednesday after inflation rose more than expected in the country, while Glencore's (GLEN.L) , opens new tab shares slid after the company posted lower 2024 earnings.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 (.FTSE) , opens new tab was down 0.3% at 1034 GMT, while the midcap FTSE 250 (.FTMC) , opens new tab fell 0.4% to a nearly two-week low.

Britain's inflation accelerated to a 10-month high of 3.0% in January, surpassing expectations and testing the Bank of England's confidence that price pressures will ease over the longer term.

The BoE earlier this month cut its benchmark interest rate to 4.5% from 4.75% and said inflation was likely to hit 3.7% later this year, almost double its 2% target.

The UK house builders' index (.FTNMX402020) , opens new tab dropped 1.6%, with homebuilders such as Persimmon (PSN.L) , opens new tab, Taylor Wimpey (TW.L) , opens new tab and Barratt Redrow (BTRW.L) , opens new tab falling between 1.6% and 2.4%.

Elevated interest rates lead to higher mortgage payments, resulting in lower demand for new homes.

"It feels like we're balancing on an knife edge and it's just going to take a few poor sets of data to turn any optimism into pessimism for the markets," said Nick Saunders, chief executive officer at Webull UK.

Glencore's shares declined 6.9% after the miner and commodity trader reported that lower commodity prices impacted its earnings last year, despite returning $2.2 billion to shareholders through a share buyback.

This dragged the industrial metal mining index (.FTNMX551020) , opens new tab down 2.6%, making it the day's biggest sectoral loser.

Trainline (TRNT.L) , opens new tab slid 9% to a near five-month low after J.P. Morgan downgraded the stock to "neutral" from "overweight".

Jet2 (JET2.L) , opens new tab tumbled 10.6% after the travel company warned of profit margin pressure due to high inflation increasing costs and reducing consumer holiday spending.

Peers Easyjet and Wizz Air (WIZZ.L) , opens new tab were down over 4% each. The UK's travel-linked index (.FTNMX405010) , opens new tab fell 1.9%.

Britain's 10-year bond yield rose to a three-week high at 4.6%, adding pressures on equities.

Utilities (.FTUB6510) , opens new tab, often traded as bond proxy, added 0.8%.

Meanwhile, the energy index (.FTNMX601010) , opens new tab advanced 0.7% as it tracked gains in crude prices.

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https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/british-stocks-fall-inflation-rises-glencores-earnings-hit-2025-02-19/