Rupee and lira ‘crisis’ fears hit Europe’s trade

Most of London’s top-flight stocks were in the red as emerging market concerns weighed heavily on European trading.

The FTSE 100 was down 91.94 points at 7,418.34.

David Madden, market analyst at CMC Markets UK, said: “Traders are worried that EM [emerging market] countries will be hit by higher borrowing costs, and in turn it could damage their economies.

“The Indian rupee has reached another record low, and the Turkish lira is weaker, too, as investors are fearful we could be heading for an EM crisis.”

The stronger pound also put pressure on the FTSE 100, as sterling appreciated by 0.53 per cent against the US dollar to $1.302 and climbed 0.28 per cent against the euro to €1.130.

UK car sales slumped by 20 per cent, while car maker Nissan warned that a hard Brexit will have “serious implications” for its Sunderland factory.

In London, DFS saw full-year profits slashed in half after the summer heatwave hit sales in the fourth quarter. Shares fell 6.5p to 203.5p.

Fellow retailers suffered a similar fate, as Marks & Spencer dropped 4.10p to 282.8p and B&Q owner Kingfisher shed 5.3p to 255.9p.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 included Legal & General, up 3.1p to 259.6p, Direct Line, up 3.5p to 325.1p, and Lloyds Banking Group, up 0.54p to 58.93p.

The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 included Ocado, down 71.2p to 843.8p, Smurfit Kappa, down 194p to 2,786p, and Burberry, down 115p to 1,913p.