Trade war fear ebbs but FTSE remains flat

Market report Hannah Burley

The FTSE 100 has languished behind its European peers after trade progress between the EU and the US lifted stocks in Germany and France.

US president Donald Trump had threatened to hit European car makers with hefty tariffs, but said a meeting with Jean-claude Juncker had produced a “very strong understanding” between the two sides.

Despite a deluge of corporate news, the FTSE 100 index did not follow its European rivals upwards, closing the day just 0.06 per cent, or 4.91 points, higher at 7,663.17.

Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell was one of the biggest fallers on the FTSE 100, with shares dropping 81p to 2,576p, when its second quarter earnings came in lower than expected, despite rising 30 per cent to $4.7 billion (£3.6bn).

Intu’s shares slumped 14.95p to 165p after the company swung to a loss and announced the departure of its chief executive.

Astrazeneca took a knock in sales due to losing a key patent, but its shares rose 233p to 5,796p thanks to sales growth from newer medicines.

Shares in Johnston Press, the publisher of The Scotsman and scores of other newspapers and websites, jumped 72 per cent to close at 6.1p.

In a statement, the group said: “The board of directors of Johnston Press notes the rise in the company’s share price and confirms that it knows of no operational or corporate or other reason for the price movement.

“The company continues to explore a number of strategic options for the restructuring or refinancing of its bonds and confirms that no agreement on these potential options has been reached.” The Edinburghbased logistics group has sold its Menzies Distribution business to private equity firm Endless for £74.5 million. Shares fell after the UK defence and aerospace group revealed a £40 million hit and said Boeing was withholding payments amid a spat.