LONDON (Alliance News) - Stock prices in London opened lower on Tuesday after the US-China trade war threatened to reignite over the long bank holiday weekend in the UK. Top economics advisers to US President Donald Trump accused China of going back on promises made in an attempt to resolve their trade dispute and have vowed to implement fresh tariffs, US media reported on Monday."Over the course of the last week or so, we've seen an erosion in commitments by China, I would say retreating from commitments that have already been made," the Wall Street Journal quoted US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer as saying.Lighthizer told reporters that the US would begin implementing a rise in tariffs on USD200 billion worth of Chinese goods from 10% to 25% from Friday.His comments came after Trump made an initial threat to China on Sunday, tweeting that talks were moving "too slowly" and that the Chinese were attempting to renegotiate."For 10 months, China has been paying Tariffs to the USA of 25% on 50 Billion Dollars of High Tech, and 10% on 200 Billion Dollars of other goods," Trump said in a tweet. "The 10% will go up to 25% on Friday".The FTSE 100 was down 22.23 points, or 0.3%, at 7,358.41 early Tuesday. The FTSE 250 index was down 27.12 points, or 0.1%, at 19,677.91, while the AIM All-Share was up 0.1% at 971.20.The Cboe UK 100 index was down 0.5% at 12,445.96. The Cboe UK 250 was down 0.2% at 17,641.98. The Cboe UK Small Companies was flat at 11,776.34.ThinkMarkets analyst Naeem Aslam said: "As the UK market was closed yesterday because of the bank holiday, traders will have to measure the Trump tactic very carefully. Looking at the last 24-hour market reaction, it becomes clear that traders do not really believe that Donald Trump is going to do what he said in his tweet. They believe this was nothing but just a tactic. "It has worked to an extent because the Chinese negotiators do understand the underlying risk better now. No one wants a [trade] war; it is not beneficial to the US, no matter how Trump sugarcoats this and it does not do any favours to the second biggest economy of the world." In Paris the CAC 40 was up 0.2% and the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was up 0.1%. In the FTSE 100, AstraZeneca was up 1.5% after the Anglo-Swedish drugmaker said its treatment for chronic lymphocytic leukaemia had met its primary goal of delivering an improvement in the time patients live without disease progression compared to an alternative combination treatment.Vodafone was up 1.1% after the telecommunications firm said it has signed a cable wholesale agreement with Telefonica Deutschland for Telefonica to offer broadband services via Vodafone's network in Germany. In the FTSE 250, Domino's Pizza Group was the worst performer, down 8.0% after the pizza delivery chain said it saw a robust performance in the first quarter, but international sales "remain disappointing". In the 13 weeks to March 31, group system sales rose 4.3% to GBP324.4 million from GBP311.1 million last year. In the UK and Republic of Ireland, system sales were up 4.8% at GBP299.3 million from GBP285.5 million. International system sales were down 2.0% at GBP25.1 million from GBP25.6 million in the first quarter last year. As such, the company said given persistently weak system sales in overseas markets, it no longer expects this part of the business to break-even this year.G4S was down 7.0% after the outsourcer said GardaWorld Security does not intend to make an offer for the company. G4S said it is to focus on separating its cash solutions business from the rest of the group as a means to create value for shareholders. On AIM, Purplebricks Group was down 4.5% after the online estate agent said Founder & Chief Executive Michael Bruce will step down immediately after a "disappointing" 12 months and will be replaced by Chief Operating Officer Vic Darvey.Purplebricks also said it is pulling out of Australia and placing its US business under review.In the US on Monday, Wall Street ended lower, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.3% and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite down 0.5%.In China on Tuesday, the Shanghai Composite closed up 0.7%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong is up 0.4%. Financial markets in Japan reopened on Tuesday after 10 days following the Golden Week holiday. The Nikkei 225 index closed down 1.5%.The pound was quoted at USD1.3124 early Tuesday, lower than USD1.3150 at the London equities close Friday.In political news, cross-party Brexit talks are set to continue this week as ministers urged Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn to do a deal with the government to break the impasse.Negotiations between Labour and the Conservatives will resume on Tuesday, with reports over the weekend suggesting UK Prime Minister Theresa May is poised to propose a temporary customs arrangement with the EU.
UK earnings, trading statements calendar - next 7 days
Wednesday 8 May | |
Alliance Pharma PLC | Full Year Results |
boohoo group PLC | Full Year Results |
Brighton Pier Group PLC | Full Year Results |
Cornerstone FS PLC | Full Year Results |
HydrogenOne Capital Growth PLC | Trading Statement |
JD Wetherspoon PLC | Trading Statement |
Light Science Technologies Holdings PLC | Full Year Results |
OSB Group PLC | Trading Statement |
Renishaw PLC | Trading Statement |
Thursday 9 May | |
Balfour Beatty PLC | Trading Statement |
Derwent London PLC | Trading Statement |
Flutter Entertainment PLC | Trading Statement |
Harbour Energy PLC | Trading Statement |
IMI PLC | Trading Statement |
ITV PLC | Trading Statement |
John Wood Group PLC | Trading Statement |
Rathbones Group PLC | Trading Statement |
Spire Healthcare Group PLC | Trading Statement |
Synthomer PLC | Trading Statement |
Wheaton Precious Metals Corp | Q1 Results |
Friday 10 May | |
CRH PLC | Q1 Results |
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA | Q1 Results |
Rightmove PLC | Trading Statement |
TBC Bank Group PLC | Q1 Results |
Monday 13 May | |
Cerillion PLC | Half Year Results |
Diploma PLC | Half Year Results |
HgCapital Trust PLC | Q1 Results |
Huddled Group PLC | Full Year Results |
Team Internet Group PLC | Q1 Results |
Victrex PLC | Half Year Results |
Tuesday 14 May | |
Angling Direct PLC | Full Year Results |
Currys PLC | Trading Statement |
DCC PLC | Full Year Results |
Flutter Entertainment PLC | Q1 Results |
Greggs PLC | Trading Statement |
Marston's PLC | Half Year Results |
On The Beach Group PLC | Half Year Results |
Renew Holdings PLC | Half Year Results |
Treatt PLC | Half Year Results |
Virgin Money UK PLC | Trading Statement |
Vodafone Group PLC | Full Year Results |
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