U.K. stocks fell on Friday as fresh worries over U.S.-China trade talks unnerved markets, offsetting better-than-expected trade data from China.
China-U.S. trade-deal optimism waned a little bit after reports suggested that a plan to roll back tariffs on each other's goods in phases has met opposition from some advisers to U.S. President Donald Trump.
The benchmark FTSE 100 was down 33 points, or 0.45 percent, at 7,373 after edging up 0.1 percent on Thursday.
Miners were among the hardest hit. Anglo American tumbled 3.4 percent, Antofagasta lost 2 percent and Glencore declined 2.2 percent.
International Consolidated Airlines Group, formed by the merger of British Airways and Spanish flag carrier Iberia Lineas Aereas de Espana S.A., fell 1.4 percent after releasing its traffic figures for October.
Lloyd's insurer Beazley Group jumped nearly 6 percent. The company reported that the Group's Gross premiums written for the nine months ended 30 September 2019 increased by 12 percent year on year to $2.19 billion.
Insurer Phoenix Group Holdings dropped 1.8 percent after former Aviva UK boss Andy Briggs has been named as the new chief executive of the company.
Royal Mail edged up slightly. The provider of postal and delivery services said that it would make an application to the High Court for an interim order to block a potential strike by the Communication Workers Union.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
Market Analysis