FTSE Up Slightly In Cautious Trade; Entain Tanks 10%

(RTTNews) - After opening higher, U.K. stocks have turned a bit subdued in late morning trades on Monday as investors continue to asses Trump administration's tariff moves and how they could reshape international trade dynamics.

It is feared that the new tariffs on steel and aluminium might lead to higher inflation and slower economic growth.

Investors are also digesting a report showing an increase in U.K.'s retail sales in the month of January.

The benchmark FTSE 100, moving in a tight band between 8,759.38 and 8,791.45, was up 6.84 points or 0.08% at 8,774.64 a few minutes ago.

Shares of sports betting firm Entain are down 10% as Chief Executive Officer Gavin Isaacs stepped down with immediate effect after less than six months in the role.

British oil major BP Plc is down nearly 1% after reporting a steep drop in profits for the fiscal quarter of last year. BP posted a fourth quarter loss to shareholders of $1.96 billion compared to profit of $371 million, a year ago. Loss per share in the fourth quarter was 12.33 cents.

EasyJet is down nearly 4% and Anglo American Plc is declining 3.2%. Vistry Group, Whitbread, Glencore, Antofagasta, Vodafone Group and Legal & General are down 2 to 3%.

IAG, Barratt Redrow, Persimmon, Rio Tinto, Croda International, Fresnillo, AstraZeneca and ICP are lower by 1 to 1.9%.

Intertek is gaining nearly 3%. Diploma, Hikma Pharmaceuticals, Smiths Group, Haleon, Natwest Group, Tesco, Standard Chartered, Severn Trent, Compass Group, Experian and Smith & Nephew are climbing up 1 to 2%.

A report from the British Retail Consortium said UK retail sales increased in January on robust food and non-food turnover despite rising cost pressures. Retail sales grew 2.6% on a yearly basis in January. This was the second consecutive rise but the pace of growth softened from 3.2% in December.

Sales were above the three-month average growth of 1.1% and the twelve month average of 0.8%.

Growth in food sales accelerated to 2.8% in January from 1.7% in the prior month. Meanwhile, non-food sales growth slowed to 2.5% from 4.4%.