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London stocks had turned negative by the close on Tuesday, amid growing tensions between the US and China, offset by a strong performance from housebuilders.
The FTSE 100 ended the session down 0.83% at 6,076.62, and the FTSE 250 was 0.84% weaker at 17,623.02.
Sterling was trading strongly in the afternoon, last gaining 0.96% on the dollar to $1.3229, and advancing 0.41% against the euro to €1.1084.
London’s top-flight index had opened in the red after the US tightened its restrictions on technology company Huawei, before breaking above the waterline for a period in the middle of the day.
“Sentiment in Europe is weak, but the positive move in sterling, has caused the British equity benchmark to underperform,” said CMC Markets analyst David Madden.
“Tensions between the US and China have heightened again as President Trump has tightened restrictions on Huawei.
“The US leader wants to limit the Chinese company’s access to US-produced chips,” he said.
“The firm was already under scrutiny from the US government, but the heat has been turned up again.”
Housebuilders were in the green, however, with Persimmon rising 8% after it reported a slump in first-half profits, but reinstated its dividend and said it had made an “excellent” start to the second half.
Peers followed suit, with Barratt Developments ahead 2.49% and Berkeley up 0.99%.
Engineering firm Wood Group advanced 4.86% even after it said half-year profits more than halved as it scrapped its dividend on the back of oil prices battered by the Covid crisis.
British Airways and Iberia parent IAG reversed earlier losses to close up 1.38%, even amid ongoing concerns about the impact of Covid-related travel restrictions on the industry.
On the downside, property website Rightmove fell 2.69% as Berenberg reiterated its ‘sell’ rating on the stock.
Mining giant BHP Group was in the red by 2.55% after saying it would widen plans to exit coal operations and review opportunities to offload older oil and gas assets as it posted a 4% drop in full-year profits.
Outsourcer Capita suffered losses of 20.01% after it swung to a loss in the first half as revenue took a significant hit from the pandemic.
Marks & Spencer lost 4.89% after saying it was cutting 7,000 jobs in response to the collapse in retail spending caused by the pandemic and ensuing shuttering of its stores during lockdown.
Cruise operator Carnival was 2.33% lower after saying it had detected a ransomware incident in which the data of its guests and employees was accessed.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 6,076.62 -0.83%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 17,623.02 -0.84%
techMARK (TASX) 3,834.16 -1.05%
FTSE 100 – Risers
Persimmon (PSN) 2,834.00p 8.00%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 534.40p 2.49%
Ferguson (FERG) 7,400.00p 2.21%
Fresnillo (FRES) 1,271.00p 1.56%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 186.80p 1.38%
Next (NXT) 6,050.00p 1.07%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 4,736.00p 0.99%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,132.50p 0.89%
GVC Holdings (GVC) 773.00p 0.86%
Phoenix Group Holdings (PHNX) 701.40p 0.75%
FTSE 100 – Fallers
Pearson (PSON) 590.40p -2.93%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 3,939.00p -2.69%
Rightmove (RMV) 614.40p -2.69%
BHP Group (BHP) 1,794.20p -2.55%
Smith (DS) (SMDS) 276.20p -2.40%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 863.00p -2.40%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,529.00p -2.39%
Pennon Group (PNN) 1,026.00p -2.33%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 407.50p -2.23%
SEGRO (SGRO) 951.20p -2.22%
FTSE 250 – Risers
William Hill (WMH) 147.50p 7.62%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 222.40p 4.86%
Grafton Group Ut (GFTU) 698.50p 4.10%
Future (FUTR) 1,476.00p 3.93%
Sanne Group (SNN) 681.00p 3.65%
Redrow (RDW) 464.20p 3.48%
Crest Nicholson Holdings (CRST) 201.00p 3.34%
TI Fluid Systems (TIFS) 182.60p 3.29%
John Laing Group (JLG) 300.00p 2.74%
Domino’s Pizza Group (DOM) 344.60p 2.44%
FTSE 250 – Fallers
Capita (CPI) 28.70p -20.01%
4Imprint Group (FOUR) 2,100.00p -7.49%
CLS Holdings (CLI) 207.00p -7.34%
Capital & Counties Properties (CAPC) 125.20p -5.65%
National Express Group (NEX) 141.60p -4.97%
Greencore Group (GNC) 119.00p -4.95%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 108.05p -4.89%
Meggitt (MGGT) 278.90p -4.81%
Pets at Home Group (PETS) 291.60p -4.78%
Royal Mail (RMG) 202.50p -4.57%
