FTSE 100 remains steady despite declines for supermarket groups

The FTSE 100 remained steady despite poor performances by the big supermarket retailers and US President Donald Trump’s warning to the Federal Reserve System.

London’s top flight closed up by 9.19 points at 7,416.69 points on Monday.

Supermarket giants Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons all shed value as traders acted cautiously ahead of Tuesday’s Kantar market share data.

Tesco saw shares slip by 5.4p to 231.3p, Sainsbury’s shares slid by 7.85p to 188p and Morrisons’ shares fell 1.3p to 199p at the end of trading on Monday.

In the US, the Dow Jones opened slightly higher on a fairly quiet day, as dealers count down to the G20 meeting set to take place later this week.

Connor Campbell, financial analyst at Spreadex, said: “Though the eurozone lost its lustre as the day went on, the UK and US markets remained blandly positive this Monday despite Trump’s inflammatory remarks regarding both the Fed and the Strait of Hormuz.”

The European markets were largely lower as the excitement of president of the European Central Bank Mario Draghi’s statement from last week has been replaced by worries about global trade.

The German Dax dipped by 0.53% and the French Cac fell back by 0.18%.

Sterling slipped slightly against the dollar, as traders appear nervous about the lack of any clarity in relation to Brexit.

The pound was up 0.06% to 1.273 versus the US dollar and increased 0.22% to 1.117 against the euro.

In stocks, train and bus operator FirstGroup saw shares dip after its battle with an activist investor, who wants to replace several board members, continued to heat up.

Coast Capital, which has a 9.7% stake in First, said the current management team had made several mistakes and “don’t know how to manage the business”.

Shares in the transport firm closed down 0.15p at 98.5p on Monday.

Struggling online fashion retailer MySale saw shares dive after it announced that it has put itself up for sale.

Bosses at the retailer – which was previously backed by Mike Ashley and Sir Philip Green – said they will undertake a “strategic review” to reduce debts and try to find a buyer, with suitors yet to be identified.

Shares in the company were down 4.2p at 2.5p when trading closed.

Pardip Dass (right) and Sukh Chamdal (centre) launched the Cake Box franchise in 2009
Pardip Dass (right) and Sukh Chamdal (centre) launched the Cake Box franchise in 2009

Shares rose at Cake Box after the company said its expansion plan had rapidly accelerated during its first year as a listed business.

Shares in Cake Box jumped by 4.4p to 170.9p.

Elsewhere, Just Eat saw shares drop despite unveiling a new boardroom addition as part of its attempts to quash calls for a sale by boardroom activists.

Shares in Just Eat were down 10.8p at 617.8p, when trading closed on Monday.

The price of oil slipped as dealers showed worries that strained geopolitical relations will end up eroding demand for the fuel.

The price of a barrel of Brent crude oil fell by 1.3% to 64.4 US dollars.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Micro Focus International, up 75p at 2,077p, Admiral Group, up 79p at 2,191p, Halma, up 63p at 2,071p and Ashtead, up 58p at 2,223p.

The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were Sainsbury’s, down 7.85p at 188p, BT Group, down 6.55p at 194.8p, Flutter Entertainment, down 174p at 5,690p, and Kingfisher, down 5.6p at 202.2p.

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