FTSE dragged lower by mining stocks
London's main benchmark slipped, along with other global markets, as traders were left with more questions than answers after America’s Trump administration unveiled its tax plans Reuters

Global markets slipped as traders were left with more questions than answers after America's Trump administration unveiled its much-anticipated tax plans.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Wednesday (26 April) the White House would launch "the biggest tax cut in American history" in a move that including slashing slashing corporate taxes to 15% from 39.5%.

More market reports

But the FTSE 100 Index fell 32.5 points to 7256.3 in afternoon trading, as traders were left in the dark as to how the measure would be paid for, with outside estimates suggesting the move could reduce government revenue by trillions of dollars over 10 years.

New York's Dow Jones closed 0.1% lower after the announcement, while overnight Tokyo's Nikkei also slipped. Germany's DAX and the Cac 40 in France also traded lower among European markets in the current session.

IG market analyst Joshua Mahony said: "Yesterday's tax announcement shed very little additional light apart from the information already leaked ahead of the announcement. There is certainly a degree of hesitancy given the difficulty Trump has had with the travel ban and healthcare reforms."

In London, Lloyds Banking Group bucked the trend seeing profits double in the first three months of the year, driven by solid trading and lower charges.

The UK's biggest retail banking group, which also owns the Halifax and HBOS, said first quarter pre-tax profit jumped 99% to £1.3bn ($1.7bn), from £654m in the same period a year ago. Shares lifted more than 2%, or 1.7p to 69.1p.

The biggest afternoon risers in the FTSE 100 Index were Mediclinic International (+100p to 831p), Persimmon (+65p to 2351p), Lloyds Banking Group (+1.7p to 69.1p), Taylor Wimpey (+3.4p to 202p) and Barratt Developments (+9p to 590.5p).

The biggest afternoon fallers in the FTSE 100 Index were Legal & General Group (-13.2p to 248p), ITV (-7.7p to 211.7p), Informa (-15p to 639p), Rolls-Royce (-16.5p to 809.5p) and GKN (-6.6p to 353p).

The biggest afternoon risers in the FTSE 250 Index were Berendsen (+54.5p to 876.5p), Spire Healthcare Group (+16p to 337.5p), Ibstock (+9.3p to 229.8p), Acacia Mining (+11.3p to 402.3p) and Allied Minds (+4.1p to 161.5p).

The biggest afternoon fallers in the FTSE 250 Index were Fidessa Group (-205p to 2406p), Weir Group (-98p to 1985p), Vedanta Resources (-32.5p to 686.5p), Elementis (-9.6p to 307.5p) and Amec Foster Wheeler (-17p to 559p).

LON:LLOY LON:TSCO