Hawkish Powell and Admiral's drop weigh on FTSE 100

(Reuters) - UK's FTSE 100 tumbled on Wednesday, with Admiral among the main losers after the motor insurer slashed its full-year dividend, while Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's warning of a higher and faster pace of monetary tightening weighed on sentiment.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 shed 0.2%, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 fell 0.5% by 0821 GMT.

Admiral Group Plc slumped 6.6% and hit a four-month low after cutting its full-year dividend and as its full-year profit missed the consensus due to increased claim costs amid higher prices of car repairs.

The FTSE 350 non-life insurance sector, which includes Admiral, dropped 2.2%.

Markets globally took a beating after Powell said on Tuesday that the central bank will likely need to raise rates more than expected in response to recent strong U.S. economic data. [MKTS/GLOB]

(Reporting by Johann M Cherian in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza)