LONDON/MILAN: Britain's top share index succumbed to gains in the pound on Tuesday after U.S. President Donald Trump fired Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, while disappointing earnings updates weighed on mid caps.
The FTSE ended down 1.1 percent at 7,138.78 points, while the mid cap index fell 1.3 percent.
Trump replaced Tillerson with loyalist CIA Director Mike Pompeo which, together with U.S. inflation data, weighed on the dollar.
That boosted sterling to a two-week high, hitting the FTSE's international earners, in particular big consumer staples.
"Rex Tillerson being replaced by the director of the CIA, that's come as a shock to the market and it's sent cable higher which has suppressed the FTSE 100 throughout the day," Jasper Reimers, senior analyst at Vertex Capital Group, said.
"Rex Tillerson was the mediator in a lot of foreign policy issues, so with him now out of the picture, it looks as though Trump's agenda might be far easier to drive in."
A half-yearly update on Britain's economy from Chancellor of exchequer Philip Hammond also helped keep the pound firm as he raised his growth forecasts slightly.
Mid cap Greencore's
Investec placed its forecasts and price target under review, noting that even though commercial developments gave the group confidence that the financial performance will improve through into 2019, this was later than management had expected.
Greencore
Still among mid caps, TC ICAP
"We believe various additional costs associated with MiFID II and ongoing investment account for the shortfall," Liberum said in a note.
On the FTSE, Antofagasta
The Chilean miner reported a sharp rise in full-year earnings thanks to higher copper prices and said it would raise its dividend 177 percent.
Tonic water maker Fevertree Drinks
Reuters also reported sepaerately: