The FTSE 100’s recent rally stalled on Tuesday as early gains were wiped out by international pessimism.
The index started the day brightly, lifting to its latest record high as it benefited from strong earnings updates from the likes of Whitbread and HSBC.
It spent most of the day with firm gains but slumped towards the end of trading as weaker sentiment in the US acted as a drag.
London’s top index finished 2.9 points, or 0.04%, lower to end the day at 8,144.13.
In the US, the main indexes opened lower as they retreated from Monday’s gains and digested deteriorating consumer confidence data for the third consecutive month.
Elsewhere in Europe, trading was weaker throughout the session as a slowdown in factory activity in China also impacted sentiment.
The German Dax index was down 1.08% at…
