MARKET REPORT

THE FTSE 100 closed 1.24% or 95.85 points lower at 7,652.91 after the Trump administration announced fresh plans for tariffs on Chinese goods.

In markets, Direct Line said its boss Paul Geddes is to leave the insurance giant next summer. Shares closed 5.4p lower at 338.5p.

Lloyds Banking Group said underlying profit rose 7% to £4.2bn over the six months to June 30, while statutory pre-tax profits surged 23% to £3.1bn. The results lifted shares 1.03p to 63.41p.

Demand for summer clothing helped retail chain Next grow sales by 2.8%, but the firm’s shares slumped 7% or 424p, making it the biggest faller on the FTSE 100.

BAE Systems posted a fall in profits. For the six months ended June 30, operating profit dropped 11% to £792m, down from £885m for the same period in 2017, knocking shares by 19.2p to 634p.

Capita’s shares fell by 8.6% or 13.95p to 148.05p after the company posted plunging profits and axed a handout to investors. The UK’s biggest outsourcer said on Wednesday that underlying profit before tax fell by 59% to £80.5m for the half-year, compared with £195m the previous year.

Dignity’s shares jumped by more than 3% or 39p to 1,051p as the funeral provider announced better than expected earnings on the back of a rise in deaths. It reported a 3% rise in revenue to £174.7m over the 26 weeks to June 29. Underlying operating profit fell 5% to £56.4m, higher than forecasts for £52.5m.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Smurfit Kappa Group up 86p to 3,216p, Lloyds Banking Group up 1.03p to 63.41p, Shire up 53p to 4,404p and Schroders up 29p to 3,142p. The biggest fallers were Next down 424p to 5,512p, Glencore down 12.65p to 321.85p, Rentokil down 12.7 to 326.6p and Rio Tinto down 142.5p to 4,054p.