FTSE 100 dips as pandemic hammers BP, HSBC profits

London's FTSE 100 index headed lower on Tuesday, as oil major BP and lender HSBC became the latest blue-chip firms to report a slump in their quarterly profit due to the coronavirus outbreak. The commodity-heavy index was down about 0.1%, with BP Plc shedding 1.5% as its first-quarter profit tumbled by two-thirds and debt rose sharply.

The wider energy index fell 1.1%, also pressured by another dive in oil prices, as the world runs out of storage space with the health crisis crushing demand. Asia-focussed lender HSBC Holdings PLC lost 1.6% after first-quarter profit nearly halved and it boosted provisions against potential bad loans.

But the domestically focussed mid-cap index added 0.5%, with financials and consumer discretionary firms providing the biggest boost.