Market overview: G20 governments plan new measures to tackle tax avoidance
1630: Close Risk appetite was weak ahead of the Federal Reserve meeting, prompting the FTSE 100 to drop into the red on Tuesday. Also providing a drag were weak capital flows into China, a poor performance by retailers, fighting in eastern Ukraine and a further drop in German investor confidence. After a turbulent performance, the FTSE 100 ultimately closed down 11.97 points at 6,792.24.
ASOS
356.80p
16:49 19/04/24
Brown (N.) Group
14.17p
16:55 19/04/24
Crest Nicholson Holdings
186.50p
17:05 19/04/24
1336: The governments belonging to the G20 have formed a plan to tackle the problem of corporate tax avoidance by introducing a range of new, tougher rules. If approved, the move, which was announced by the OECD, could force certain large corporations to pay significantly larger sums in tax.
1055: UK stocks continue to be under the weather following an overnight slip on Wall Street and large losses in Chinese equities overnight, as investors react to increased worries regarding the outlook for growth in the Asian giant. There are reports of a possible strike by workers at Chile's Escondida mine.
1030: German investors have lower expectations for the economy than last month thanks to a sharp drop in August. The ZEW index revealed a decline from 8.6 to 6.9, with expectations for retail, construction and services all seeing a drop.
0930: As expected, the annual rate of UK consumer-price inflation eased from 1.6% to 1.5% in August, further away from the government's 2% target. "Falls in the prices of motor fuels and food & non-alcoholic drinks provided the largest downward contributions to the change in the rate," the ONS said. The FTSE 100 is down 20 at 6,785.
0830: UK stocks have started on the back foot as investors await UK inflation figures and German economic confidence. A gloomy update from Asos is also weighing on the retail sector with shares sinking sharply after the company said profits in the year to August 2015 would be "at a similar level" to the previous period. Sector peer N Brown is also under pressure after saying that first-half revenues fell 0.6%. Housebuilder Crest Nicholson has, like its peers, seen a "slight moderation" in sales rates over the last few months, causing shares to fall early on. The FTSE 100 is down 16 at 6,788.