FTSE heads south on rate hike

Unilever led the fallers, down 5.82% at £12.14, despite reporting a big hike in second quarter profits, up 29% to £351m. British Land fell 3.92% to £13.24, Persimmon lost 4.02% to £12.42 and Land Securities declined 2.63% to £19.23. Rio Tinto fell 1.14% to £27.75, despite reporting first half earnings were up 80% to a record $3.75bn. Chemicals giant ICI dropped 3.78% to 363p after traders were unimpressed with a 14% hike in second quarter profit. In the US, the Dow Jones industrial average is up 19.69 points, or 0.18%, at 11,219.62 points after Procter & Gamble rose on news rival...