BP weighs (Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - London, 09 Jul - UK shares closed lower as investors fretted over the outcome of elections in the UK and France and assessed comments from Federal Reserve head Jerome Powell.

In testimony before Congress, Powell said that elevated inflation is not the only risk the US faces.

'Reducing policy restraint too late or too little could unduly weaken economic activity and employment," he said.

The Fed last week acknowledged progress has been made in bringing down inflation towards its 2% target rate but cautioned it still wants to see more evidence the easing is sustainable before it starts to cut rates.

Prospects of a hung parliament in France after a surprise win for the country's leftwing coalition, the New Popular Front (Nouveau Front Populaire), however weighed on sentiment.

The French election results come after a general election in the UK last week that saw the opposition Labour Party win a landslide victory as expected, ending 14 years in power for the Conservative Party.

Among individual stocks, BP dropped 4.30% at 454.25 pence after it warned it expects to post an impairment of up to 2 billion dollars in the second quarter, warning of lower refining margins weighing on its results.

The London FTSE 100 closed down 0.66% at 8,139.81 points.

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(RADIOCOR) 09-07-24 18:18:34 (0569) 5 NNNN