UPDATE 1-FTSE 100 lower as investors disconnect from Vodafone

Britain's FTSE 100 edged lower on Monday as Vodafone slipped after a report of a dividend cut, offseting gains in oil heavyweights, while concerns over the stand-off in Sino-U.S. trade negotiations continued to overshadow markets.

The FTSE 100 was down 0.1% while the FTSE 250 was 0.4% lower by 0832 GMT. Both indexes hit a more than six-week low. Vodafone tumbled 3.4% to the bottom of the main index after The Times reported https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/vodafone-ready-to-slash-dividend-to-pay-for-5g-g6d59xtxl that the world's second-biggest mobile operator was set to slash dividend to pay for auctions for mobile phone airwaves in Germany and Italy.

Shares of rival BT also gave up 2%. Uncertainty around the trade situation loomed large as negotiations between Washington and Beijing seemed to be at a deadlock over the weekend.

"The rhetoric and posturing is not good for risk and events over the last few days diminish the likelihood we will see a meaningful deal done," Markets.com analyst Neil Wilson said. Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell said investors were "nervously waiting for China to blast back following last week's aggressive trade war volley from the U.S."

Sentiment was also weighed down by Brexit worries, amid a lack of clarity over where cross-party talks were headed and growing calls for Prime Minister Theresa May's departure. UK-focussed banks and industrial groups traded in the red on both indexes.

However, concerns about supply disruptions in the Middle East led oil majors Shell and BP higher. Another notable blue-chip gainer was British Gas owner Centrica, which added 1.6% after maintaining its annual operating cash flow and net debt forecast despite a challenging trading environment.

Metro Bank, which has lost more than two-thirds of its value this year, slipped 6% to hit another all-time low on the mid-cap index. It said on Friday its plan to raise equity was well advanced, while a Financial Times report on Sunday said it was looking to sell loans that were hit by an accounting error.

Rating actions also drove some moves. Shopping centre operator Intu sank 5.5% after a JP Morgan downgrade while hedge fund manager Man Group dropped 3.1% after Goldman Sachs cut rating. (Reporting by Shashwat Awasthi and Muvija M in Bengaluru; editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise and Jon Boyle)