The offices of the London Stock Exchange Group are seen in the City of London, Britain December 29, 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville/

May 31 (Reuters) – London’s FTSE 250 index fell on Tuesday and marked a second consecutive month of losses on fears that a worsening cost of living crisis could hurt economic growth, while stocks airlines fell with rising oil prices.

The National Mid Cap Index (.FTMC) closed down 0.6%. Airlines such as easyJet (EZJ.L), Wizz Air (WIZZ.L) and British Airways owner IAG slipped between 3.3% and 5.6% as Brent crude climbed above $120 a barrel, signaling rising fuel costs.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 index (.FTSE) ended up 0.1%, led by shares of Unilever (ULVR.L) which jumped 9.4% after the consumer goods giant appointed a billionaire activist to its board, pressuring the company for a bigger overhaul. of strategy. Read more

Index gains were capped by B&M whose shares fell 15.0% after the discount retailer warned of falling profit margins this year as customers spend less on discretionary products due to runaway inflation. Read more

“That’s not the message the market wanted to hear from B&M, even though the company is in a considerably stronger position than it was before the pandemic,” said Russ Mould, chief investment officer at AJ. Bell.

“B&M’s value-based proposition means margins are quite thin and therefore vulnerable to inflation.”

The FTSE 100 ended May 0.8% higher, buoyed by strong gains in oil & gas (.FTNMX601010) and bank stocks (.FTNMX301010), while its domestic counterpart fell 1.4%, adding to year-to-date losses of more than 13.1%. % as worries about a recession in Britain mounted.

Credit card borrowing in Britain rose last month at the fastest annual rate since 2005, possibly reflecting a worsening cost-of-living squeeze that may now be starting to slow the housing market, have Bank of England data suggested on Tuesday. Read more

Among other stocks, Pennon Group (PNN.L) fell 2.7% after warning of a near-term hit to earnings in a higher inflationary environment.

Reporting by Sruthi Shankar and Devik Jain in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernadette Baum

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