UK's FTSE 100 fell on Thursday, hurt by a drop in shares of Flutter after a dour forecast, with investors awaiting comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to gauge the path for global interest rates.

The FSTE 100 slid 0.4% and was set to mark its fourth session of decline in six, while the mid-cap index FTSE 250 edged 0.1% lower.

Flutter dropped 9.0%, dragging the travel and leisure index to over a week's low, after the online betting company said it expects full-year earnings, excluding the nascent U.S. market, at the bottom of its previously forecast range.

AstraZeneca was among the top gainers on FTSE 100, jumping 1.8% after the drugmaker raised its annual core profit outlook, buoyed by strong demand for its oncology and rare blood disorder drugs.

Taylor Wimpey soared 2.0% after the homebuilder forecast annual operating profit at the top end of its previous outlook range.

Focus will now shift to Powell, who is scheduled to speak at 1900 GMT with traders ready to scrutinise every word, and to Bank of England's chief economist Huw Pill at 0830 GMT, for outlook on interest rates. (Reporting by Shubham Batra in Bengaluru; Editing by Varun H K)