London midday: Stocks drop as nerves creep in ahead of G20

London stocks had fallen into the red by midday on Thursday as nerves crept in ahead of the G20 meeting.

The FTSE 100 was down 0.5% at 7,381.02, while the pound was flat against the dollar and the euro at 1.2689 and 1.1162, respectively.

Investors were mulling over a report from the South China Morning Post saying that the US and China had agreed a tentative truce before the G20 summit. The SCMP cited sources as saying that details of the agreement are being laid out in press releases ahead of the meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump at the G20 in Japan this weekend.

Meanwhile, a Wall Street Journal report suggested that China had insisted that the US lift its Huawei ban as part of a trade truce.

Oanda analyst Craig Erlam said: "It's clear that investors are a little cautious when it comes to this meeting, given how talks collapsed previously and the fighting talk we've since seen from both sides.

"Trump appeared very optimistic as he headed off to Osaka while warning that he's more than happy to impose tariffs if talks fail. Trump's dual role as both good cop and bad cop has become a common feature of these occasions though so people don't seem to be reading too much into this.

"From a markets perspective, a complete breakdown may spur some near-term weakness but with central banks waiting in the wings and prepared to cut rates, they may continue to be well supported."

In equity markets, B&Q and Castorama owner Kingfisher was sitting pretty at the top of the FTSE 100 as it appointed Thierry Garnier - the chief executive officer of Carrefour Asia - as its new CEO.

Vodafone was also in the green following a Reuters report a day earlier that the company is set to secure EU antitrust approval for its $22bn bid for Liberty Global's cable networks in Germany and central Europe.

Shares in Serco rallied after the outsourcer said 2019 revenue is expected to be at the top end of its guidance range of £2.9bn to £3bn, thanks in part to strong order intake.

Greene King shares fizzed higher as the pub operator's full-year profit came in ahead of expectations, although revenue was a small miss.

On the downside, ex-dividends knocked 6.4 points off the FTSE 100 and 2.3 points off the 250, with British American Tobacco, British Land, Burberry, Experian and JD Sports all in the frame.

Elsewhere, Hiscox was weaker as it announced the retirement of chief underwriting officer Richard Watson.

Rightmove was the worst performer on the top-flight index after a downgrade to 'sell' at UBS, while Senior was the standout loser on the FTSE 250 after a downgrade to 'equalweight' at Barlcays.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,381.02 -0.48%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,238.52 -0.11%
techMARK (TASX) 3,618.22 -0.07%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Kingfisher (KGF) 211.80p 2.92%
Next (NXT) 5,598.00p 2.04%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 457.20p 1.74%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 209.40p 1.60%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 749.20p 1.49%
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,907.50p 1.41%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 191.85p 1.29%
Aveva Group (AVV) 3,980.00p 1.12%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 178.70p 1.10%
Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 199.45p 1.09%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Rightmove (RMV) 533.10p -3.77%
Croda International (CRDA) 5,110.00p -3.31%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 2,738.50p -2.51%
SEGRO (SGRO) 716.00p -2.32%
British Land Company (BLND) 525.40p -2.23%
Carnival (CCL) 3,398.00p -2.22%
Hiscox Limited (DI) (HSX) 1,659.00p -2.18%
Experian (EXPN) 2,347.00p -2.00%
Auto Trader Group (AUTO) 555.60p -1.84%
Smurfit Kappa Group (SKG) 2,382.00p -1.53%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Royal Mail (RMG) 209.56p 4.62%
Serco Group (SRP) 142.00p 4.57%
National Express Group (NEX) 407.60p 4.03%
Metro Bank (MTRO) 516.00p 3.95%
Greene King (GNK) 602.60p 3.90%
Stagecoach Group (SGC) 125.70p 3.88%
B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI) (BME) 329.40p 3.49%
Bakkavor Group (BAKK) 118.20p 2.78%
Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 285.00p 2.52%
Funding Circle Holdings (FCH) 198.95p 2.13%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Senior (SNR) 205.40p -11.01%
Plus500 Ltd (DI) (PLUS) 528.00p -7.82%
Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 450.40p -3.18%
Synthomer (SYNT) 365.00p -2.82%
Dunelm Group (DNLM) 932.00p -2.71%
Energean Oil & Gas (ENOG) 828.00p -2.47%
Future (FUTR) 944.70p -2.31%
IntegraFin Holding (IHP) 367.85p -2.27%
Provident Financial (PFG) 409.50p -2.13%
Beazley (BEZ) 538.50p -2.00%