British equities drop 1%; Dr Martens, Superdry tumble

April 16 (Reuters) - London stocks took a dive on Tuesday, with most sectors trading in red, as traders pulled back expectations of rapid U.S. rate cuts, while shares of Dr Martens and Superdry tumbled on disappointing corporate updates.

As of 0719 GMT, the resource-heavy FTSE 100 lost 1.2% to their lowest levels in a month, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 fell 1.4%.

Shares of Dr Martens slumped 25.2%, dragging the personal goods sector by 4%, after the bootmaker named a new chief exective and flagged a challenging fiscal 2025 amid weak U.S. demand.

Investors' expectations of a rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve further inclined towards September after a hotter-than-expected retail sales data narrated a higher-for-longer story.

Unemployment in the UK edged higher in February, while wages saw their weakest climb for a three-month period ended September 2022, bolstering bets for a June cut by the Bank of England.

Shares of Superdry tumbled 25% after the retailer launched a turnaround plan that would involve restructuring of its UK property estate and retail cost base, along with an equity raise that would take the firm private.

(Reporting by Pranav Kashyap in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)