London close: FTSE drifts amid Independence Day holiday malaise

The FTSE drifted to a less-than compelling finish on Tuesday with US markets closed for the Independence Day holiday.

Shares in Worldpay rocketed on news it had been approacheed by US-based payment processing and technology provider Vantiv Inc and JPMorgan Chase Bank over a potential acquisition.

The FTSE 100 closed down 0.27% to 7,357.23, and the FTSE 250 ended 0.10% lower to 19,301.47. Key stocks indices in Europe were suffering from malaise, too.

Geopolitical tensions were in focus after North Korea alleged it had successfully test-launched a long-range intercontinental ballistic missile, which could potentially reach the US.

This was as crude-oil prices nudged ahead, with that for gold improving as silver and copper were on the back foot.

IG market analyst Joshua Mahony penned the day as somewhat uneventful, but -- with big data ahead -- noted there was little time to pause for breath.

"Volatility was always expected to be lower today, amid a loss of volumes with US traders off the desk thanks to the Independence Day celebrations," said Mahony.

"There has certainly been an air of calm on the markets today, with volatility around FX, stock and commodity markets all noticeably lower compared to recent days," he added.

On the UK data front, today's construction purchasing-managers' index (PMI) disappointed, but attentions are already on the country's services PMI on Wednesday.

These data would be scrutinised by the market and Bank of England policymakers, the latter appearing to take more hawkish stances in the past week.

David Madden, market analyst at CMC Markets UK, added that the FTSE's sideways traipse was caused by the US holiday.

"There were some economic announcements from the UK and the Eurozone, such as construction data and producer price index (PPI) but the reaction to both was muted," said Madden.

"European indices have been edging lower over the past number of weeks, and traders are wondering is it just a pullback from the from the positive run in the first-half, or could a larger correction be getting under way."

Looking more closely at the blue-chip, gold-focused miners Randgold Resources and Fresnillo did well, as did several commercial and residential property companies. To the south were a number of utility companies and financials.

Sainsbury's pushed higher after saying it enjoyed a strong start to its financial year as grocery sales growth accelerated and general merchandise, including Argos, outperformed the market.

Like-for-like retail sales excluding fuel grew 2.3% across the group in the 16 weeks to 1 July, a sizeable improvement from the decline seen in the same period a year ago and the lifeless growth in the fourth quarter of last year.

Housebuilder Persimmon was higher despite some disappointing data on the UK construction sector. Markit's construction purchasing managers' index for June gave came in at 54.8, down from 56.0 the month before and short of the City's consensus forecast of 55.0.

Going the other way, subprime lender Provident Financial retreated after the BoE gave lenders a deadline of September to prove they are adequately protected against consumer credit risks.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,357.23 -0.27%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,301.47 -0.10%
techMARK (TASX) 3,484.60 -0.38%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Worldpay Group (WPG) 408.00p 27.70%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 6,850.00p 2.01%
Fresnillo (FRES) 1,487.00p 1.43%
Kingfisher (KGF) 309.00p 1.38%
Persimmon (PSN) 2,291.00p 1.10%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,227.50p 1.07%
RSA Insurance Group (RSA) 623.00p 1.05%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 566.50p 0.89%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 612.00p 0.82%
Land Securities Group (LAND) 1,014.00p 0.80%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Provident Financial (PFG) 2,319.00p -2.07%
Convatec Group (CTEC) 313.70p -1.82%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,312.00p -1.50%
BAE Systems (BA.) 623.50p -1.27%
National Grid (NG.) 942.00p -1.26%
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,266.00p -1.17%
Severn Trent (SVT) 2,149.00p -1.15%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 5,177.00p -1.13%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 721.70p -1.11%
3i Group (III) 895.00p -1.05%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Virgin Money Holdings (UK) (VM.) 288.00p 6.51%
Hunting (HTG) 517.00p 5.23%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 162.10p 3.64%
Paysafe Group (PAYS) 519.50p 2.77%
Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 90.55p 2.26%
Vedanta Resources (VED) 696.00p 2.13%
Sanne Group (SNN) 647.00p 1.89%
Pets at Home Group (PETS) 162.00p 1.76%
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 156.10p 1.69%
Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 468.20p 1.67%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Sophos Group (SOPH) 440.60p -2.59%
Pennon Group (PNN) 813.50p -2.52%
Essentra (ESNT) 563.50p -2.25%
FDM Group (Holdings) (FDM) 751.00p -2.02%
Coats Group (COA) 75.70p -2.01%
SIG (SHI) 145.90p -1.82%
Electra Private Equity (ELTA) 1,720.00p -1.77%
Genus (GNS) 1,718.00p -1.55%
Millennium & Copthorne Hotels (MLC) 435.80p -1.49%
Caledonia Investments (CLDN) 2,942.00p -1.44%