London open: Stocks edge lower as Sino-US trade relations in focus
London stocks edged lower in early trade on Tuesday as investors digested the latest headlines on Sino-US trade relations.
At 0830 BST, the FTSE 100 was down 0.4% at 7,067.50, with many traders likely still away from their desks after the Bank Holiday weekend.
Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell said: "Following last Friday’s spiteful trade escalation, and then Monday’s suggestion that both the US and China are still willing to come to the negotiating table, Tuesday saw the European markets cautiously err on the negative side of things.
"The open was informed by the Chinese yuan falling to a fresh 11 and a half-year low, a sign that investors are tempering their optimism about a positive outcome to the trade war appearing any time soon.
"That wasn’t enough, however, to completely undo Monday’s rebound. Not yet, anyway. The FTSE remained trapped the wrong side of 7,100, dipping 20 or so points.
"The pound was rather muted in its gains on Tuesday. Against the dollar it clawed back 0.2%, leaving it to tease $1.224, while against the euro sterling could only add 0.1%. The latest headlines suggest that Jeremy Corbyn could back a pre-Brexit election to try and avert no deal, though that level of uncertainty would be only mild comfort to the pound."
In equity markets, plumbing supplier Ferguson was the worst performer on the top-flight index after a downgrade to 'underperform' from 'neutral' at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
Distribution and outsourcing group Bunzl was in the red as it posted a rise in interim profit and revenue and hiked its dividend, but pointed to "continuing economic uncertainties".
On the upside, Polymetal advanced as it reported a jump in interim adjusted core earnings thanks to higher production, as its Kyzyl operation delivered at full capacity.
Outside the FTSE 350, shares of Carpetright rallied as the embattled floor coverings retailer said its largest shareholder, Meditor European Master Fund, will buy its £40.7m revolving credit facility from lenders NatWest and AIB.
Indivior was also on the rise as Jefferies lifted its price target on the stock to 65p from 40p.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,067.50 -0.39%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,213.85 -0.12%
techMARK (TASX) 3,805.43 -0.43%
FTSE 100 - Risers
NMC Health (NMC) 2,223.00p 3.06%
Fresnillo (FRES) 701.60p 2.51%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 819.80p 1.99%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 1,212.50p 1.04%
BP (BP.) 491.25p 0.67%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) 6,870.00p 0.56%
Land Securities Group (LAND) 762.80p 0.39%
Mondi (MNDI) 1,582.00p 0.35%
Evraz (EVR) 482.90p 0.29%
Standard Life Aberdeen (SLA) 241.30p 0.25%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Ferguson (FERG) 5,836.00p -2.47%
Carnival (CCL) 3,350.00p -2.45%
Spirax-Sarco Engineering (SPX) 7,745.00p -1.65%
Imperial Brands (IMB) 2,021.50p -1.63%
Pearson (PSON) 804.80p -1.61%
Bunzl (BNZL) 2,003.00p -1.48%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 2,117.00p -1.40%
Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,563.13p -1.29%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 606.80p -1.24%
Legal & General Group (LGEN) 219.00p -1.22%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Daejan Holdings (DJAN) 5,670.00p 3.28%
PayPoint (PAY) 939.96p 3.18%
IWG (IWG) 419.30p 3.00%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 210.80p 1.93%
JPMorgan Indian Investment Trust (JII) 715.00p 1.85%
Polymetal International (POLY) 1,135.00p 1.70%
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 143.21p 1.64%
G4S (GFS) 170.85p 1.45%
Acacia Mining (ACA) 263.20p 1.39%
Brewin Dolphin Holdings (BRW) 303.20p 1.27%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
TI Fluid Systems (TIFS) 171.60p -3.81%
CYBG (CYBG) 134.00p -3.63%
Amigo Holdings (AMGO) 160.69p -2.37%
Funding Circle Holdings (FCH) 114.50p -2.14%
Galliford Try (GFRD) 578.00p -1.95%
Avast (AVST) 386.40p -1.78%
Woodford Patient Capital Trust (WPCT) 42.53p -1.78%
Travis Perkins (TPK) 1,222.50p -1.73%
Games Workshop Group (GAW) 4,236.00p -1.58%
Playtech (PTEC) 372.70p -1.56%