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Reuters A woman, wearing a protective face mask, walks in front of the Bank of England
U.K. stocks slipped on Thursday for the first time in three sessions, after a big early surge from correctly anticipating the U.S. Senate would act to cushion the world’s largest economy.
Up 13.9% over the previous two sessions, the FTSE 100 UKX, -2.20% dropped 2%.
Decliners included Royal Dutch Shell RDSA, -6.03% , which fell nearly 6%, and cruise operator Carnival CCL, -7.14% , which dropped over 7%.
The U.S. Senate passed a $2 trillion stimulus bill, with legislation moving to the House of Representatives where it’s expected to be passed on Friday by a voice vote.
Initial U.S. jobless claims spiked to a record high of 3.3 million, the Labor Department announced.
The Bank of England said it would consider expanding asset purchases if necessary following a decision to hold interest rates at 0.1% and keep the bond-buying program at £200 billion.
The pound GBPUSD, +0.9175% rose to $1.1961 from $1.1880, while the yield on the 10-year TMBMKGB-10Y, -11.37% fell 5 basis points to 0.39%.
British Land BLND, -5.50% slumped 5%. The real-estate company said it would offer customers rent deferrals as it scrapped its upcoming dividend.
