London midday: Stocks fall further as Trump threats spark jitters
London stocks extended losses by midday on Monday, with miners under the cosh as investors grew increasingly jittery following more trade threats from US President Trump.
The FTSE 100 was down 1.3% to 7,586.55, while the pound was off 0.2% against the euro and the dollar at 1.1366 and 1.3236, respectively.
Trump has threatened to curb Chinese investments in the US for reasons of "national security", with a draft series of restrictions on inbound Chinese investments due to be published later in the week.
Oanda analyst Craig Erlam said: "The latest measures are set to focus on technology transfers, with Trump apparently preparing to stop some Chinese companies investing in US tech firms while also blocking tech exports to China."
Trump also threatened at the end of last week to impose a 20% tariff on all European cars if the EU does not remove trade barriers introduced on Friday.
Meanwhile, oil prices were mixed after an initial surge following Opec's decision last Friday to boost production. Brent crude was 1.7% lower at $74.29 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate was down up 0.1% to $68.62.
"A very confused Opec meeting left investors with a high degree of ambiguity on Friday, resulting in a huge rise in oil prices as the market concluded that supply would increase by less than had been anticipated," said Rebecca O’Keeffe, head of investment at Interactive Investor. "However, after overshooting on Friday, oil prices have fallen today after OPEC confirmed that they would make up any deficit going forward in the event of unplanned disruptions that might cause output to fall below agreed levels for the group as a whole."
The EU summit is due to kick off later in the week, with Brexit set to be in focus again after hard-line Brexiteers ramped up pressure on Prime Minister Theresa May over the weekend for a no deal plan, while business lobby groups co-ordinated pressure on the other side with a letter to 10 Downing Street. As well as Brexit, the main issues on the agenda at the summit will be the structure of the EU and immigration.
In corporate news, serviced office group IWG bucked the trend after announcing that it has been approached by another private equity suitor about a potential takeover, with Terra Firma entering the fray. IWG's board, which notified of the approach on Saturday after it had been leaked in the press, said it was evaluating a possible cash offer from Terra Firma Investments.
Eastern Mediterranean-focussed exploration and production company Energean Oil and Gas nudged up after saying it has made the decision to drill an exploration well in the Karish North prospect, offshore Israel, with a planned spud date before the end of March 2019, subject to necessary approvals.
On the downside, miners were the biggest drag, with Anglo, Glencore, Antofagasta, and BHP Billiton among the top fallers.
Software and information technology business Micro Focus was under pressure after US peer Red Hat cut its full-year revenue forecast last week.
Synthomer slipped as it announced a refinancing of its existing bank facilities, consisting of an offering of €300m (£263.5m) in seven-year unsecured senior notes, and a new €300m four-year revolving credit facility.
Melrose Industries ticked lower after being given clearance from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States for its takeover of defence contractor GKN.
Outside the FTSE 350, estate agent Countrywide tumbled after cutting its adjusted earnings guidance for the first half again and announcing an equity raising to reduce debt.
Elsewhere, Rolls-Royce retreated despite an upgrade to 'hold' from 'reduce' at Kepler Cheuvreux.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,586.55 -1.25%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,839.94 -0.81%
techMARK (TASX) 3,511.15 -0.66%
FTSE 100 - Risers
NMC Health (NMC) 3,598.00p 1.01%
Shire Plc (SHP) 4,099.50p 0.82%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 5,252.00p 0.44%
Just Eat (JE.) 827.00p 0.32%
Centrica (CNA) 158.40p 0.25%
Sky (SKY) 1,418.50p 0.25%
Unilever (ULVR) 4,143.50p 0.24%
Compass Group (CPG) 1,625.00p 0.18%
Associated British Foods (ABF) 2,838.00p 0.11%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 750.80p 0.03%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Micro Focus International (MCRO) 1,295.00p -5.06%
Anglo American (AAL) 1,641.00p -3.30%
Glencore (GLEN) 376.60p -2.73%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,001.50p -2.63%
Fresnillo (FRES) 1,143.50p -2.51%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,624.80p -2.48%
Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,686.00p -2.43%
Prudential (PRU) 1,771.00p -2.37%
easyJet (EZJ) 1,750.50p -2.23%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 4,090.50p -2.19%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Cairn Energy (CNE) 237.00p 3.58%
Sirius Minerals (SXX) 32.70p 3.54%
IWG (IWG) 326.91p 3.29%
Renishaw (RSW) 5,290.00p 1.93%
Sophos Group (SOPH) 603.00p 1.86%
Indivior (INDV) 372.71p 1.78%
Energean Oil & Gas (ENOG) 503.10p 1.74%
McCarthy & Stone (MCS) 105.60p 1.54%
Tate & Lyle (TATE) 632.40p 1.25%
Sanne Group (SNN) 681.00p 1.19%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 109.90p -4.10%
FirstGroup (FGP) 80.30p -3.54%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 189.80p -3.51%
QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 260.60p -3.48%
Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 542.88p -3.47%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 186.35p -3.30%
Kaz Minerals (KAZ) 834.70p -3.10%
IP Group (IPO) 125.40p -3.09%
Intu Properties (INTU) 185.95p -3.08%
Pagegroup (PAGE) 563.50p -3.01%