London close: FTSE closes lower as investors still cautious on N.Korea
London stocks slipped again amid jitters about the tension between North Korea and the US, as well as disappointment around the housebuilding sector.
The FTSE 100 closed 0.25% to 7,354.13, while the pound was up 0.36% against the greenback at 1.3077 and relatively flat versus the euro at 1.0947.
After its hydrogen bomb test on Sunday, North Korea threatened to send "more gift packages" to the US if it continued to put pressure on the regime.
Earlier in the day, IG analyst Joshua Mahony said: "Global stock markets appear to be in a period of nervous uncertainty, as the threat of another North Korean test looms large over any investors wishing to invest in risky assets. The clear indecision evident throughout the Asian session has translated into a morning of downside for European indices, with the FTSE, DAX and CAC all trading in the red."
European stocks since pared those losses and closed higher on the day, Spain being the exception, with the DAX up 0.75% to 12,214.54, the CAC 40 higher to 5,101.54 and the IBEX 35 down 0.48% to 10,131.00.
"Unfortunately with Trump focusing on the DACA scheme, it feels unlikely that we will hear any market positive announcements from leftfield, leaving the risk skewed towards the downside given the potential for another North Korea 'gift'." said Mahony.
London's blue chip index also saw a drag from the housing sector, with Barratt Developments dropping just over 4% despite posting record annual profit, better than forecast revenue and a 39% hike to its dividend.
The company's shares had climbed 30% since the start of the year while the prospect of only "modest growth" in the next financial year was another reason for the shares' correction.
Barratt wasn't the only housebuilder in the red, with Berkeley Group also lower as it reported in-line trading but warned that uncertainty around Brexit, stamp duty and mortgage interest deductibility continued to weigh on the London market.
But retirement housebuilder McCarthy & Stone saw its shares advance as it said it saw a "strong" recovery in the second half of the year, with revenue and the order book up on the previous year despite uncertainty brought about by Brexit and the general election.
Pharmaceuticals group Vectura tumbled after first-half operating loss widened to £41.3m from £24.1m the previous year.
EasyJet reversed earlier gains to fly lower despite reporting a 9.4% jump in passenger numbers in August.
On the upside, Micro Focus racked up impressive gains following the release of third-quarter results for its recently merged software arm, HPE Software, where margins have strengthened.
Petrofac rallied after saying it has been awarded a contract worth more than $700m by Sakhalin Energy Investment Company for its onshore processing facility on Sakhalin Island.
Sports Direct pushed higher as it reiterated its full-year guidance, expressed optimism over its outlook and confirmed that it now owns 100% of Flannels.
Amec Foster gained after it was awarded a $604m engineering, procurement and construction fixed price contract for part of a $1.85bn methanol plant being developed by Yuhuang Chemical, a US-based subsidiary of China's Shandong Yuhuang Chemical Company.
FTSE 250 network security solutions provider Sophos fell despite lifting its full-year billings guidance.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,354.13 -0.25%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,652.31 -0.38%
techMARK (TASX) 3,419.85 -0.25%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Micro Focus International (MCRO) 2,343.00p 6.16%
Next (NXT) 4,374.00p 2.51%
ITV (ITV) 159.40p 2.05%
Paddy Power Betfair (PPB) 7,210.00p 1.41%
Land Securities Group (LAND) 1,006.00p 1.00%
Shire Plc (SHP) 3,956.00p 0.89%
Glencore (GLEN) 365.80p 0.77%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 4,812.00p 0.74%
Tesco (TSCO) 186.00p 0.70%
Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 7,139.00p 0.66%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 595.50p -4.57%
G4S (GFS) 276.00p -2.92%
BAE Systems (BA.) 594.00p -2.70%
Persimmon (PSN) 2,561.00p -2.40%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 1,657.00p -2.13%
Convatec Group (CTEC) 271.10p -1.92%
Sage Group (SGE) 682.00p -1.80%
Mondi (MNDI) 2,038.00p -1.74%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 195.40p -1.71%
Old Mutual (OML) 201.10p -1.66%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 446.30p 8.56%
TalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) 214.80p 5.76%
Hunting (HTG) 433.50p 4.49%
Indivior (INDV) 292.80p 4.16%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 166.50p 3.67%
Dixons Carphone (DC.) 172.60p 3.60%
Softcat (SCT) 404.20p 3.38%
Sanne Group (SNN) 782.00p 2.89%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 626.00p 2.71%
Amec Foster Wheeler (AMFW) 467.20p 2.55%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Vectura Group (VEC) 95.00p -12.92%
Carillion (CLLN) 45.00p -6.15%
Beazley (BEZ) 459.90p -5.70%
Evraz (EVR) 315.10p -4.52%
Inmarsat (ISAT) 663.00p -3.56%
Hastings Group Holdings (HSTG) 301.90p -3.55%
CLS Holdings (CLI) 211.10p -3.39%
Lancashire Holdings Limited (LRE) 646.00p -2.86%
BGEO Group (BGEO) 3,327.00p -2.78%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 3,657.00p -2.53%