Us-china tensions drag on Footsie

The FTSE 100 slipped into the red after slumping in the afternoon session on the back of cooling sentiment from traders.

The European markets were in positive territory for large parts of the day before drifting lower after US trade officials raised concerns over tensions with China.

London’s top flight closed 11.71 points lower at 6,472.59.

David Madden, market analyst at CMC Markets UK, said: “The indices stated off in the red, but as the day went on sentiment turned positive.

“But equity benchmarks traded lower after Peter Navarro, US trade adviser, claimed that China are trying to steal US vaccines via intellectual property theft.

“The adviser to the Trump administration soured the fragile sentiment in stocks, as the commentary could lead to a renewed increase in Us-china tensions.”

Meanwhile, sterling moved higher as it partly benefited from weakness in the US dollar. The value of the pound rose 0.2 per cent versus the US dollar at $1.130, and was up 0.15 per cent against the euro at €1.123.

Pharmaceutical giant Astrazeneca helped to weigh down the FTSE 100 as shares dipped following weekend reports after speculation over a £216 billion megamerger with Gilead was dampened.

Astrazeneca, which is leading the global race to produce the first coronavirus vaccine in a partnership with Oxford University, was reportedtohavehadinformallyapproached Gilead about a potential tie-up last month.

Shares moved 227p lower to 8,200p.

Meanwhile, BP shares moved higher as the UK oil giant announced a major new strategy that will see it cut 10,000 of its global workforce in a bid to cope with the impact of coronavirus. Its shares closed 3.5p higher at 365.75p.

Mulberry shares dipped after the fashion brand said it plans to cut around a quarter of its workforce. It ended the session down by 6.5p to 189.5p after it warned it expects social distancing measures, lower footfall and fewer tourists to continue to hit revenues.

Car dealership Lookers dropped by 6.9p to 24.6p after warning investors they might be unable to buy and sell its shares from the beginning of July, after it discovered a potential fraud on its books.