Concern over trade wars dents Footsie

The FTSE 100 was on the back foot amid continued concerns over global trade wars.

The Chinese government announced a series of tariffs on US goods including larger cars, motorbikes and fibre optic cables in response to the US issuing a finalised list of imports it is targeting.

The Footsie dropped 34.88 points to close at 7,741.77 with London’s top flight also dragged down by tour operator Tui, which suffered a double-digit drop in third-quarter earnings and said summer bookings were unlikely to outperform due to the recent heatwave.

The company saw underlying earnings for the three months to 30 June slump 18 per cent to £174 million, having been hit by currency fluctuations and the earlier timing of Easter. Shares ended down 40p at 1,542.5p.

On the FTSE 250, G4S also took a battering, ending 21.9p down at 260.1p. It came after the outsourcer reported a 36 per cent drop in profits on the back of a raft of disposals. Card Factory shares also tumbled after the retailer slashed its profit guidance on the back of extreme weather and weak consumer demand. The greeting cards and gifts retailer said it expects full-year underlying earnings to come in between £89m and £91m, compared with previous forecasts of £93.5m. Shares were down 22.7p at 188.1p.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Fresnillo up 24.4p at 1,022p, Hargreaves Lansdown up 47p at 2,122p, Intercontinental up 87p at 4,734p and Randgold up 100p at 5,598p. The biggest fallers included BT Group down 11p at 229p and Direct Line down 8.6p at 325.6p.