Picture used for illustrative purpose. File

London-listed shares retreated on Thursday as earnings updates from firms including Rolls-Royce underlined the extent of the corporate damage from the COVID-19 pandemic ahead of the annual Jackson Hole central bankers' conference later in the day.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 and the mid-cap FTSE 250 fell 0.2% each, with banks, insurers and real estate stocks leading the declines. 

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Rolls-Royce tumbled 5.9% after sinking to a first-half underlying loss before tax of 3.2 billion pounds ($4.2 billion). The wider aero and defence index lost 1.4%.

Hays Plc, one of the world's biggest recruitment agencies, rose 0.9% even as it posted a 12% fall in annual net fees and saying it expected to cut more jobs this quarter.

Investors are now awaiting an address by U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to kick off the virtual Jackson Hole Symposium later on Thursday. Bank of England chief Andrew Bailey is scheduled to speak at the meeting on Friday. 

Reuters