Legal & General falls (Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - London, 12 Jun - UK shares closed as data showed that inflation in the US continued to ease.

Both the headline and the core US Consumer Price Index for May came in slower than expected.

The data comes hours before the Federal Reserve unveils its latest decision on monetary policy as its 2-day meeting wraps up.

Stubborn inflation has prompted the Fed to put back the timetable for rate cuts and prompted traders to recalculate their expectations for the number of cuts this year.

The Fed is widely expected to keep its key rates steady but most eyes will be on its so-called 'dot plot' - a chart updated on a quarterly basis giving each Fed member's prediction on the trajectory of the federal funds rate.

Fed officials have repeatedly said they will not contemplate a monetary pivot until there is hard proof that inflation is firmly under control and falling towards its 2% target.

Back in the UK, economic growth was flat in April as construction output dropped for a third straight month and industrial output fell sharply. The reading was in line with expectations but lower than March's 0.4% expansion.

Among individual stocks, Rentokil jumped 13.73% at 472.20 pence amid reports that US activist investor Nelson Petz's Brian Fund built a stake in the pest control company.

Legal & General meanwhile lost 5.47% at 229.80 pence after the insurer announced a new buyback program and a new restructuring plan.

The London FTSE 100 closed up 0.83% at 8,215.48 points.

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(RADIOCOR) 12-06-24 18:18:17 (0604) 5 NNNN