The UK blue-chip index was down 4.31 points, or 0.1% at 7,409.11, below the session peak of 7,433.34 but above the day’s low of 7,386.76
The FTSE 100 index ended modestly lower on Tuesday as Wall Street put in a cautious morning showing amid geopolitical tensions around US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan albeit offset by some robust corporate earnings.
At the close, the UK blue-chip index was down 4.31 points, or 0.1% at 7,409.11, below the session peak of 7,433.34 but above the day’s low of 7,386.76.
In New York, around London’s close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 120 points, or 0.4% lower at 32,678, while the broader S&P 500 index was flat, but the tech-laden Nasdaq Composite edged up 0.2%.
BP Plc rallied 3.6 percent as the energy giant hiked its dividend and accelerated share buyback after reporting its highest quarterly profit in 14 years. Shell shares advanced 1.1 percent.
Greggs jumped 2.4 percent after the bakery chain reported a slight increase in first-half pre-tax profit and said it is well placed to navigate the cost of living crisis. Man Group plunged 5.2 percent after the fund manager reported its first decline in assets for a three-month period in more than two years.
Joshua Mahony, senior market analyst at online trading platform IG commented: US markets are leading the losses today, as fears around a potential military escalation with China bring risk-off sentiment back into play. While we are still to hear from the remaining 36% of the S&P 500 that are yet to report, the reaction to a largely better-than-expected earnings season has mostly been priced in by this point.
He said: Thus, this week has seen markets shift their attention to the risk posed by Nancy Pelosi has just landed in Taipei despite Chinese government warnings. Sharp volatility for USDCNH highlight market uncertainty over how the trip will play out, but ultimately it is likely that this current posturing will soon blow over despite a short-term rise in tensions.
