London markets weaken as oil prices slip

London’s stock market weakened on Tuesday as oil prices slipped, weighing on top mining and energy stocks.

The FTSE 100 was dragged lower with the likes of Anglo American and Glencore, and Shell and BP losing ground.

The blue-chip index closed 31.41 points lower, or 0.38%, to 8,167.37.

It came as the price of Brent crude oil dropped by nearly 2% on Tuesday. By the time European markets closed, it was down about 1.7% to 81 US dollars per barrel.

It was a mixed session across Europe, however, with Germany’s Dax outperforming its peers and jumping 1.74% higher.

France’s Cac 40 meanwhile closed 0.31% lower.

In the US, top share indices got off on the front foot with the S&P 500 up about 0.3% and Dow Jones up 0.2% by the time European markets closed.

The pound was down about 0.15% against the US dollar at 1.29, and up 0.2% against the euro at 1.19.

Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst for IG, said “The morning gains for Europe have mostly slipped away, and it has been an uncertain start on Wall Street too as investors hunker down and await earnings from Tesla and Alphabet.

“Recent history has shown that oil prices tend to decline over the summer and early autumn, and worries about demand growth have sparked off fresh losses this afternoon.

“This spells fresh trouble for the FTSE 100, which has been desperately seeking a catalyst for a new rally.”

In company news, catering giant Compass was the FTSE 100’s biggest riser after the firm upgraded its earnings outlook for the second time this year.

It reported a 10% jump in sales in the three months to the end of June, compared with the previous year.

The company said it continued to benefit from being better value for money than many high street restaurants, providing catering options for office canteens, schools and universities. Shares in Compass jumped by 4.5% at close.

Elsewhere, outsourcer Mitie said it nearly doubled its contract value in recent months after winning new deals and extensions with the likes of Lloyds Bank, British Airways and the Home Office.

The firm reported stronger revenues, which it said was also partly due to its acquisition of several smaller companies during the period. Its share price, however, dipped by 2.5% when markets closed.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Compass Group, up 99p to 2,290p, Rolls-Royce, up 16.7p to 460p, Melrose Industries, up 11.4p to 563p, Beazley, up 12p to 662p, and Marks & Spencer, up 5.6p to 325.6p.

The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were Glencore, down 9.95p to 433.4p, Anglo American, down 49.5p to 2,184.5p, LondonMetric Property, down 4.4p to 197p, Airtel Africa, down 2.4p to 114.6p, and Prudential, down 13.6p to 687.4p.