Energy shares offer support (Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - London, 02 Jul - UK shares closed lower as investors focused on central banks ahead of this week's elections.

Britain's general election - scheduled for Thursday - looks set to end 14 years in power for the Conservative Party as opinion polls give a large lead to Keir Starmer's opposition Labour Party over prime minister Rishi Sunak's Tories.

Weighing on sentiment, core eurozone inflation rose in May, rekindling some concerns over the European Central Bank's rate path.

Energy stocks offered some support as crude prices rose.

BP and Shell added 1.30% at 484.70 pence and 0.42% at 2,869.50 pence, respectively.

Among individual stocks, Sainsbury's fell 2.87% at 250.40 pence as the supermarket reported a slower pace of growth.

Wizz Air dropped 3.91% at 2,066.00 pence after the budget airline reported a decline in passenger numbers in June.

The London FTSE 100 closed down 0.56% at 8,121.20 points.

AAA-Zap

(RADIOCOR) 02-07-24 18:19:28 (0634) 5 NNNN