FTSE 100 drops as oil prices fall on U.S. stimulus worries; Tesco jumps

London's FTSE 100 slipped on Wednesday, as a fall in oil prices following U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to halt negotiations with Congress for a U.S. stimulus knocked energy stocks, while Tesco gained after reporting a jump in sales.

London's FTSE 100 slipped on Wednesday, as a fall in oil prices following U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to halt negotiations with Congress for a U.S. stimulus knocked energy stocks, while Tesco gained after reporting a jump in sales. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index fell 0.2%, with energy and insurers leading the declines. The mid-cap index was up 0.1%.

The energy index was also the biggest drag on the FTSE 100 as oil prices fell more than 1% on Trump's decision and a larger-than-expected increase in U.S. crude inventories. "The market is in belief that there will be a stimulus package coming anyway irrespective (of) who wins the U.S. elections. However, investors are on the edge with continuing uncertainty on Brexit and have taken the view that they shouldn't place long bets in this environment," said Andrea Cicione, a strategist at TS Lombard.

Britain's trade minister Liz Truss said on Wednesday a deal with the European Union over the pair's future trading relationship is "do-able" as the end of a transition period approaches. British house prices rose last month at the fastest annual pace since June 2016, mortgage lender Halifax said, boosting construction stocks.

Tesco, Britain's biggest retailer by sales, gained 2.2% after it reported a jump in sales due to the COVID-19 pandemic and said it saw its FY21 operating profits being in line with the previous year. British private security company G4S slipped 0.15% after it once again rejected smaller Canadian rival GardaWorld's offer and dismissed claims made by the hostile bidders in a pitch to shareholders as misleading.

Tour operator TUI fell 4.5% after it named Sebastian Ebel as its new finance chief, replacing Birgit Conix, as part of a management board reshuffle.