FTSE 100 adrift as Brexit tensions weigh; Rio Tinto gains

London's FTSE 100 edged higher after a muted open on Friday, with investors maintaining a cautious stance around Brexit tensions and a tech rout on Wall Street, while Rio Tinto gained after the miner said its chief executive officer will step down. The blue-chip FTSE 100 was up 0.3%.


Reuters | London | Updated: 11-09-2020 14:36 IST | Created: 11-09-2020 14:05 IST
FTSE 100 adrift as Brexit tensions weigh; Rio Tinto gains
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London's FTSE 100 edged higher after a muted open on Friday, with investors maintaining a cautious stance around Brexit tensions and a tech rout on Wall Street, while Rio Tinto gained after the miner said its chief executive officer will step down.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 was up 0.3%. A dip in oil prices hit shares of BP Plc and Royal Dutch Shell Plc , while bank stocks lost 0.5%. The mid-cap FTSE 250 edged up 0.1% as gains in consumer goods and healthcare firms offset weakness in industrials and technology stocks. Stock markets in Asia also struggled to make headway following another U.S. tech-related sell-off overnight.

"Markets are a bit tired with traders taking a breather following the up and down movement in the U.S.-based tech rout," said Connor Campbell, financial analyst at Spreadex, adding that market participants were holding off on big trades in the face of growing Brexit uncertainty. The European Union on Friday ramped up preparations for a no-deal Brexit as top officials prepared to brief its 27 members on British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's plan to break the divorce treaty.

UK stock markets have rallied since a coronavirus-driven crash earlier this year, but have widely underperformed their U.S. and European peers with the domestic economy on course for its worst recession in 300 years. Data on Friday showed Britain's economy in July grew for a third consective month as pubs, restaurants and other sectors reopened after the coronavirus lockdown, but new business restrictions in England are likely to threaten the nascent rebound.

Rio Tinto rose 0.8% after the company parted ways with its chief executive and two deputies, bowing to a shareholder outcry over the destruction of two significant Aboriginal rockshelters and what was seen as the miner's inadequate initial response.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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