FTSE 100 closes lower as global markets struggle with trade war fears

The FTSE closed in the red today, as fears of a trade war continued to take their toll on markets around the world and US jobs data disappointed.

The FTSE 100 index was down over 15 points at 7,183.64, coming off a low of 7,163.11 earlier in the day.

Data on UK productivity this morning showing 0.7 per cent growth did little to lift spirits, as economists concluded that the country still has a lot of catching up to do. London financial services and manufacturing hubs were blamed for the slowdown in growth.

Meanwhile global markets were impacted as jobs created in the US during March missed expectations and Donald Trump upped the ante in a back and forth with China, saying he was now mulling an additional $100bn (£71.3bn) of tariffs “in light of China’s unfair retaliation”.

Among FTSE 100 companies, there was little share price movement at Dixons Carphone even as its chief executive of the UK and Ireland stepped down to lead a new energy supply business.

But Rio Tinto led the fallers after it was downgraded by analysts at Exane BNP Paribas, who said they know have a preference for BHP Billiton in the mining space. Several stocks in the sector were under pressure due to the centrality of metal in Trump’s trade crusade.

Micro Focus was the biggest riser as it continued a slow recovery from a massive slump in its value last month following the CEO’s resignation.

Earlier in the day, Marks & Spencer and Next led the FTSE 100 fallers following a note by analysts at Citi which downgraded the retailers. Both had recovered but were still down at the close.

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