London’s FTSE 100 slipped on Tuesday, posting its worst open in three weeks, dragged by industrial miners and lenders, while Whitbread rose to the top of the index on reporting a solid quarterly profit.
The blue-chip index and the mid-cap FTSE 250 fell 0.4% each, as of 0718 GMT. Whitbread Plc added 4.0% after the Premier Inn owner reported its annual profit above pre-pandemic levels, lifting the travel and leisure sector up 0.1%.
Banks shed 1.7% in early trading, weighing on FTSE 100.
Industrial miners lost 2.1%, tracking weakness in copper prices over lacklustre demand from China.
Anglo American’s overall first-quarter production rose 9%, helped by strong copper output from the ramp-up of its Quellaveco mine.
Its shares were however down 1.9% in line with the broader market.
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Associated British Foods lost 4.3% after the Primark owner reported a 3% fall in first-half profit and kept its guidance for a flat outcome in the full year.
Meanwhile, data showed Britain recorded a bigger-than-expected budget deficit of 21.53 billion pounds ($26.87 billion) in March.