Rising trade tensions sends FTSE 100 lower (updated)
23/03/2018 16:55
* FTSE 100 down 0.4 pct at close
* Indivior tumbles 6 pct after patent litigation loss
* GSK up after exits Pfizer consumer health bid
* Asia-exposed funds tumble
(Updates prices at close)
By Helen Reid
LONDON, March 23 (Reuters) - Mounting fears of a global
trade war after the U.S. slapped tariffs on imports from China
sent British stocks to a 15-month low on Friday.
The FTSE 100 .FTSE ended the session 0.4 percent lower at
6,921.94 points, clawing back some losses after hitting its
lowest level since December 2016 in early trading.
Investor unease extended to the response from China, which
urged the United States to "pull back from the brink", and
unveiled its own plans to impose tariffs on up to $3 billion of
U.S. imports. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N1R46S3
Bank stocks and miners were the biggest drags as risk
sentiment soured and the most trade-sensitive sectors suffered.
Some felt this was a long-overdue selloff in stock markets,
which enjoyed an unusually robust 2017 but have run into
obstacles since the start of last month.
"It could have been anything that caused it, it just
happened to be trade," said Daniel Lockyer, senior fund manager
at Hawksmoor Investment Management.
"The market is a discounting mechanism and we didn't think
it was discounting enough risks out there, whether it's
corporate earnings disappointing, political risks, the end of
QE," he added.
Indivior INDV.L shares plummeted more than 20 percent at
the open before recovering, ending down 6.3 percent, after the
pharma firm lost a patent protection case, setting it up for
cheap competition to its opioid addiction treatment.
A U.S. court ruled generic drugs firm Alvogen had not
infringed three of the British firm's patents, a blow to
Indivior whose Suboxone Film treatment accounts for as much as
80 percent of its revenue. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N1R51LH
GSK GSK.L rose 3.3 percent after it pulled out of the
bidding war for Pfizer's consumer health business PFE.N after
Reckitt Benckiser RB.L did likewise earlier this week.
urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N1R51JW
Smiths Group SMIN.L dropped 4.4 percent to the bottom of
the FTSE 100 after reporting a weaker first-half profit than
expected. The engineering group pointed to currency headwinds
and higher R&D costs.
Next NXT.L bounced 7.7 percent to the top of the index
after its annual results, with investors relieved the clothing
retailer did not issue a profit warning. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nASO0002GV
A broadly challenging retail environment has caused many of
Britain's high street stores to suffer sharp losses, making Next
a relative winner.
UK-listed funds invested in Japan and China were among the
worst performers on the mid- and small-cap indexes after a rout
in Asian trading overnight.
Baillie Gifford Japan Trust BGFD.L fell 2 percent, while
Fidelity China Special Situations FCSS.L tumbled 3.1 percent.
Among small-caps Fidelity Japanese Value FJV.L shares dropped
3.4 percent and Schroder Japan Growth Fund SJG.L lost 1.4
percent.
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Trade fears sink FTSE 100 to 15-month low http://reut.rs/2pAOA8C
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(Reporting by Helen Reid and Kit Rees
Editing by Andrew Heavens and John Stonestreet)
((Helen.Reid@thomsonreuters.com; +44 20 7542 0402;))
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