LONDON, Oct 13 — London’s FTSE 100 index fell today as signals of economic growth bolstered bets of a rate hike by the Bank of England before the end of the year, although Britain’s biggest homebuilder Barratt Developments surged on strong results.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 index eased 0.5 per cent at 0710 GMT, with miners Rio Tinto, BHP Group and Anglo-American among the worst performers.

Britain’s economy returned to growth in August after contracting for the first time in six months in July, keeping intact financial market bets the Bank of England will begin raising interest rates before the end of the year.

The domestically focussed mid-cap index fell 0.2 per cent, with retail stocks among the worst performers.

SoftBank-backed online retailer THG dropped 7.6 per cent, extending losses after it held a presentation yesterday to reassure investors it could reverse a recent slide in share price.

Britain’s biggest housebuilder Barratt Developments PLC climbed 2.5 per cent after reporting sales above pre-pandemic levels and announcing it was on track to deliver its 2022 and medium-term targets.

Just Eat Takeaway shares declined 4.3 per cent to its lowest since February 2019 after its third-quarter orders failed to meet analyst expectations. — Reuters