UK shares slip amid tariff uncertainty
(Reuters) – Britain’s benchmark stock index edged lower on Monday, though gains in mining stocks kept losses in check, as investors awaited details of U.S. reciprocal levies.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 closed down 0.1%, while the midcap FTSE 250 index ended flat.
The pharmaceuticals and biotech sector lost 1.5%, leading sectoral declines. Heavyweight AstraZeneca was down 1.3%, weighing on the blue-chip index.
On the flip side, industrial metal miners firmed 1.6% on higher copper prices, as traders bought to ship to the United States, where President Donald Trump is threatening to impose tariffs on imports of the metal. [MET/L]
Separately, JPMorgan also double upgraded the European mining sector to “overweight” from “underweight”.
Miners Anglo American, Glencore, Antofagasta, and Rio Tinto climbed between 1.2% and 2.7%.
Meanwhile, investors awaited details on potential exclusions from sector-specific tariffs in Trump’s reciprocal levies on April 2, though a Trump official cautioned that no final decisions have been made.
Vodafone shares fell 4.4% after BofA Global Research cut its rating to ‘neutral’ from ‘buy’ and also cut its price objective on the stock.
This week will see the release of key economic data including UK inflation figures, a half-yearly budget update and the U.S. Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation reading.
Businesses in Britain’s services sector reported a pickup this month, according to a survey that offered some comfort to finance minister Rachel Reeves ahead of a challenging speech on the economy and the public finances this week.
Monday’s preliminary reading of the UK S&P Purchasing Managers’ Index for the services sector hit a seven-month high of 53.2 in March, up from 51 in February.
Among individual stocks, meat producer Cranswick fell 2.4% after bird flu was detected in a sheep in England.
(Reporting by Ragini Mathur and Sanchayaita Roy in Bengaluru. Editing by Anil D’Silva and Mark Potter)
