Stocks ‘offside’ as trade fears weigh further

The FTSE 100 ended deep in the red as trade tensions sparked by Donald Trump continue to weigh heavily on equity markets.

London’s top flight joined markets across the globe in plunging into negative territor y, closing down 100.08 points, or 1.3 per cent, at 7,591.96 after the US threatened to slap tariffs on $200 billion (£150bn) worth of Chinese goods.

David Madden, market analyst at CMC Markets UK, described stocks as “firmly offside” due to the tensions. “There will be a hearing in August when the situation will be reviewed, but for the time being traders are worried.”

The p ound, still nursing the scars of Tor y infighting over Brexit, also ended the session in the doldrums. Sterling was down 0.3 per cent against the dollar at $1.323 and down 0.2 per cent versus the euro at €1.13.

In stocks, Barratt Developments led the FTSE 100 risers, closing up 17p at 500p, after the housebuilder said it would beat profit targets.

Sky shares ended the day down 7.5p at 1,494p, despite Ruper t Murdoch’s 21st Centur y Fox trumping rival Comcast with a higher bid worth £24.5bn for the pay-tv broadcaster.

And leading the fallers was Micro Focus, with the Newbury-based software firm shedding 119.5p to close at 1,184p after swinging to a half-year loss due to increased expenses from its acquisition of Hewlett Packard’s software business last year.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 included Kingfisher, up 4.3p at 305.8p, and Next, up 70p at 6,050p. The biggest fallers included Tui, down 88p at 1,607.5p, and Ocado, down 56.5p at 1,046.5p.