Market down again amid trade fears

Market report Perry Gourley

The London market started the week on a weak note as continuing concerns over a trade war weighed on traders.

The FTSE 100 Index closed down 33.25 points to 6,888.69. On the currency markets, the pound surged to a seven-week high against the US dollar as traders continued to bet on the Bank of England hiking interest rates in May.

Engineering giant GKN remained in positive territory despite an embarrassing U-turn over comments made at the weekend.

The company was challenged by the Takeover Panel – which supervises and regulates takeovers and mergers – over comments made to the Sunday Telegraph and Sunday Times.

GKN issued a market announcement, saying it “confirms that these statements of shareholder support in respect of GKN were not verified and are hereby retracted”. Shares in GKN rose 2.5p to 431.5p, while those in suitor Melrose Industries climbed 1.8p to 221p.

However, online estate agency Purplebricks closed down 10 per cent, or 31.4p, to 280p, after it said annual revenues would fall short of company forecasts following a financial hit from the Beast from the East.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 index included mining group Fresnillo ,up55pto 1,263p, oil giant BP, up 7.1p to 469.6p, Royal Bank of Scotland, up 3.9p to 258.5p, and Evraz, up 5.4p to 443.5p.

The biggest fallers included Smurfit Kappa, down 126p to 2,932p, Micro Focus International, down 31p to 925p, Paddy Power Betfair, down 220p to 7,155p, and Kingfisher, down 8.5p to 288.2p. The life sciences company which specialises in the development and supply of antibodies was in demand after posting strong half year results. The online estate agency warned on sales performance as it revealed German media giant Axel Springer had bought a sizeable stake.