FTSE 100 dips but set for best quarter since financial crisis

London's FTSE 100 retreated on Tuesday as fears about another lockdown to contain the relentless spread of the novel coronavirus took the shine off one of the strongest quarters for British stocks since the global financial crisis. Auto, banks and energy firms were among the biggest decliners in early trading.

London's FTSE 100 retreated on Tuesday as fears about another lockdown to contain the relentless spread of the novel coronavirus took the shine off one of the strongest quarters for British stocks since the global financial crisis. The blue-chip FTSE 100 was down 0.3%, with Royal Dutch Shell Plc among the biggest drags after it said it would write down the value of its assets by up to $22 billion on a lower outlook for oil and gas prices.

The mid-cap FTSE 250 reversed small gains at the open to trade down 0.1%. Auto, banks and energy firms were among the biggest decliners in early trading. Homebuilder Redrow tumbled 5.6% to the bottom of the FTSE 250 after saying it expected its turnover to drop more than a third this year.

On the other hand, asset manager Standard Life Aberdeen rose 3.3% as it said Keith Skeoch would step down as chief executive and be replaced by former Citi executive Stephen Bird.

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