Footsie down in advance of Trump event

Market report Emma Newlands

Markets were mixed as investors waited for news from US President Donald Trump’s meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

The FTSE 100 Index ended lower by 28.48 points at 7,303.2, while its European counterparts including the French Cac 40 and German Dax rose 0.6 per cent and 0.1 per cent, respectively.

Sterling also failed to find direction, trading flat against the US dollar at $1.248 but rising 0.1 per cent versus the euro to €1.172.

It came ahead of a meeting between the US and Chinese leaders in Florida, which experts say could provide much-needed fuel for markets. Connor Campbell, a financial analyst for Spreadex, said: “Trump’s behaviour when meeting his international counterparts has moved the markets in the past, and there is no reason why this summit between the US president and his most powerful peer will be any different.”

In UK stocks, BP shares fell 0.75p to 464.45p after the company fended off a fresh shareholder rebellion, having slashed boss Bob Dudley’s pay package.

Unilever’s London-listed shares rose 38.5p to 3,978p as it announced plans to offload its spreads business, including Flora and Stork, in a bid to revamp after batting off a takeover attempt from Kraft Heinz.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 included Easyjet up 43p to 1,060p, British Land Company up 14p to 636p, and Persimmon up 45p to 2,145p.

The biggest fallers included Lloyds Banking Group down 1.9p to 63.59p, Aviva down 15p to 514.5p, and Paddy Power Betfair down 200p to 8,385p. A trading update revealed that the Edinburghbased accounting software group was on track for a decent full-year outcome with revenues of £8m. The educationfocused business fell to the bottom of the FTSE 100 after its stock was downgraded by Exane BNP from “neutral” to “underperform”.