US travel ban weighs on stock markets

Market report Perry Gourley

The FTSE 100 dropped as investors took stock of the potential impact of Donald Trump’s travel ban on global business.

The index closed down 66.01 points at 7,118.48 points, mirroring a dip in European equities, where the French Cac 40 and German Dax both dropped 1.1 per cent.

Michael Hewson, a chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK, said investors were waking up to the downside of what Trump’s presidency might mean for riskier assets.

“It’s been a disappointing start to the week, as investors digest the latest executive order from US President Donald Trump, which has prompted large scale sell-offs across the board for European stocks, as concerns rise that the US may become a much less predictable place to do business.”

Vodafone shares rose 2.6p to 195.95p after the company confirmed that its Indian unit is in discussions to merge with Idea Cellular in a deal that would create the Asian country’s biggest telecoms firm.

In an unscheduled announcement, the telecoms giant said that talks are under way with Idea’s owner, the Indian conglomerate Aditya Birla Group, about an all-share merger.

Lloyds Banking Group shares fell 0.96p to 64.91p as the government announced it had reduced its stake in the bank by around 1 per cent.

Shares in Bargain Booze owner Conviviality fell 1p to 259p despite reporting a 211 per cent jump in sales to £782.5m, helping to swing the firm back into profit. The software firm said it expects pre-tax profits to come in significantly ahead of current market expectations after strong trading. The emissions reduction and fuel efficiency firm disappointed the market with an update on progress with licensing its technology.