April 2 (Reuters) – British shares ended lower on Tuesday as fears about higher-for-longer interest rates sparked a global risk off mood, although a rise in commodities-linked stocks kept losses in check for the resources-heavy index.
Leading sectoral gains, oil and gas stocks (.FTNMX601010), opens new tab advanced 3.1%, tracking higher crude prices hit their highest level this year.
Industrial metal miners (.FTNMX551020), opens new tab followed with a 2.7% rise, as strong factory data from China helped push copper prices to highest in more than a week, while precious metal miners (.FTNMX551030), opens new tab climbed 2.3%, as gold prices scaled another record high.
The globally focused FTSE 100 (.FTSE), opens new tab retreated 0.2% after notching up a more than one-year high earlier in the session as the second quarter kicked off with traders returning after Easter break.
By comparison, the pan-European STOXX 600 (.STOXX), opens new…
