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FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 up 0.5%

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UK wage growth slows in June

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Ocado ( OCDGF ) jumps on earnings beat

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EasyJet ( EJTTF ) slumps on lower profit forecast

By Ankita Yadav

July 17 (Reuters) - London's main stock indexes rose on

Thursday, as signs of a cooling labour market assured investors

that the Bank of England would likely cut interest rates by

August.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 was up 0.5% as of 1001 GMT,

while the domestically oriented FTSE 250 index added

0.5%.

Annual wage growth in the UK, excluding bonuses, slowed to

its lowest since the second quarter of 2022 in the three months

to May at 5%, data showed. The number of employees on company

payrolls dropped by a provisional 41,000 in June after a 25,000

decline in May.

"For the Bank of England, this is a sign of growing slack in

the labour market, which is likely to ease inflationary

pressures, and mean it can cut rates sooner rather than later,"

said Sarah Coles, head of personal finance at Hargreaves

Lansdown.

Traders were pricing in a 77% chance of a 25 bps rate cut

next month, easing slightly from 80% the day before. Overall,

traders expect 2 rate cuts by the end of the year.

The data follows Wednesday's report that showed inflation in

June rose to its highest since January 2024 at 3.6%.

In company news, shares of Ocado ( OCDGF ) jumped 14% as the

online supermarket and technology group reported a 76.5% rise in

underlying earnings in its first half and said the firm's

priority is to turn cash positive in the next financial year.

EasyJet ( EJTTF ) tumbled 5% as the low-cost carrier warned

that a strike by French air traffic controllers earlier this

month and rising fuel costs would hit its annual profit.

Shares of technical products and service distributor Diploma

jumped 6% to an all-time high after the firm upgraded

its full-year organic revenue growth.

Coats Group ( CGGGF ) slumped 11.4% to the bottom of the

midcap index after the thread manufacturer said it would buy

U.S.-based footwear insole maker OrthoLite for $770 million,

including debt.

(Reporting by Ankita Yadav in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini

Ganguli)