FTSE 100 ends day down after trade spats

The FTSE 100 fell to a sixmonth low yesterday as political jitters and global trade spats sent global equities into the red.

London’s blue chip index ended the day down 1.27% or 91.85 points at 7,145.74.

It was a sea of red across European equities, with the French CAC 40 and German DAX down 2.1% and 2.2% respectively. Across the pond, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 1.4% while the Nasdaq Composite slumped more than 2%.

Traders were jittery as Italy signalled it was sticking to plans to raise the budget deficit to 2.4%, putting it on a collision course with Brussels.

Investors also worried about the heated trade spat between the US and China.

But the rising pound was also weighing on the FTSE 100.

The pound was trading at its highest levels against the euro since June, up 0.1% at 1.144.

Versus the US dollar, sterling shot up 0.5% to trade at 1.320.

Brent crude prices slipped 1.7%.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Kingfisher up 9.2p at 261.1p, BT Group up 8.3p at 237p, United Utilities up 23.8p at 721.4p, and Lloyds Banking Group up 1.81p at 59.11p. The biggest fallers were Mondi down 170p at 1,775.5p, Burberry Group down 152p at 1,728p, Halma down 92p at 1,267p, and DS Smith down 29p at 418.2p.