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FTSE 100 down 0.1%, FTSE 250 off 0.3%

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Hochschild drops after cutting Brazil gold output forecast

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JD Sports Fashion up on signs of improving US sales

(Updates after markets close)

Aug 27 (Reuters) - London stocks ended marginally lower

on Wednesday, bogged down by heavyweight financial stocks as

investors monitored the concerns around the U.S. Federal

Reserve's independence.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 finished the day 0.1% lower,

extending Tuesday's losses when global risk assets took a hit

after U.S. President Donald Trump said he was firing Federal

Reserve Governor Lisa Cook.

Cook's lawyer responded that the Fed governor would file a

lawsuit to prevent Trump from dismissing her.

Banks were among the top decliners on the

FTSE 100 on Wednesday, with NatWest ( NWG ) lagging, down 2.5%.

The UK's blue-chip index touched a record high last week,

when global markets got a lift after Fed Chair Jerome Powell

signalled a possible interest rate cut at the Fed's September

meeting.

Equities in London, however, have run into turbulence this

week with the blue-chip index down for two straight sessions and

a bank holiday on Monday.

The FTSE 250 midcap index, which sits more than

11% away from its all-time high in September 2021, closed 0.3%

down.

Hochschild Mining slumped 9.3% to the bottom of the

midcap index after the miner slashed its full-year production

forecast for its Mara Rosa mine by more than half.

On the flip side, personal goods led gains

among the major FTSE sub-sectors on Wednesday with a 3.1%

increase.

Among other moving stocks, JD Sports Fashion gained

3.6% after the sportswear retailer showed signs of stabilisation

in its key U.S. market after a sharp decline in the previous

quarter.

Insurer Prudential unveiled a $1.1 billion share

buyback plan and signalled higher dividends over the next two

years after posting a 12% rise in first-half new business

profit. Its shares, however, ended 1.7% down, shedding initial

gains.

Global investor focus was expected to be on U.S. tech giant

Nvidia's ( NVDA ) quarterly earnings due later in the day.