Nov 20 (Reuters) – The UK’s FTSE 100 share index dipped on Wednesday, as hotter-than-expected inflation data tempered expectations for quick interest rate cuts, and overshadowed optimism around software company Sage’s upbeat quarterly profit.
The export-focused FTSE 100 (.FTSE), closed down 0.2%, but the technology sector index (.FTUB1010), surged 6.2% to touch a record high.
Sage Group (SGE.L), reported a better-than-expected 21% rise in operating profit, driven by a 220-basis-point margin increase, and said it expected further progress this year, sending its shares up 18% to an all-time high.
The domestically focussed FTSE 250 index (.FTMC), dropped 0.9% to a more than three-month low, as data showed annual inflation rose by more than expected in October, back above the Bank of England’s (BoE) 2% target, aided almost entirely by an increase in regulated domestic energy tariffs.
The data bolstered expectations that the BoE will move…
