(Reuters) – British equities slipped on Tuesday, as investors assessed the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on metals.
The FTSE 100 lost 0.1% after closing at a record high on Monday. The domestically focused FTSE 250 midcap index slipped 0.1% by 1104 GMT.
Industrial metal miners were the biggest drag on the index, losing 2.5%.
Trump on Monday raised the tariff rate on aluminium to 25% from 10% “without exceptions or exemptions” and is set to announce reciprocal tariffs this week on all countries that impose duties on U.S. goods.
Among other sectors, which are sensitive to metal prices, home construction lost 2.3%.
British homebuilder Bellway lost 5.5% after the homebuilder also said it was mindful of affordability concerns.
Heavy-weight BP lost 0.8% after the oil giant pledged to reset the company’s strategy as it reported a 35% fall in annual profits.
Entain slumped 10.1% after the British bookmaker announced the sudden departure of CEO Gavin Isaacs after just five months in the top role.
“Isaacs’ sudden departure has clearly spooked investors. While Entain’s chair Stella David is steadying the ship as interim CEO, the lack of a permanent boss makes the group vulnerable if a rival betting group or private equity outfit came sniffing around for takeover opportunities,” AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould, said.
Airline stocks fell after TUI flagged a slowdown in bookings. Wizz Air fell 6.1%, Easyjet dropped 3.7% and British Airways-owner IAG was down 1.6%.
The travel and leisure sector lost 2%.
A speech by the Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey is due at 1215 GMT.
Meanwhile, BoE policymaker Catherine Mann said she voted for a half-point interest rate cut last week to “cut through the noise” about the right stance for policy, but said rates needed to remain restrictive.
On the data front, markets are gearing up for a U.S. inflation report on Wednesday and British gross domestic product (GDP) figures on Thursday, which could affect expectations for the BoE’s rate path.
(Reporting by Pranav Kashyap in Bangalore; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)
