FTSE 100 slips as homebuilders, precious miners weigh

The blue-chip FTSE 100 was down 0.1 per cent, while the FTSE 250 midcap index gained 0.3 per cent

The UK's benchmark FTSE 100 slid on Wednesday as losses in shares of homebuilders and precious miners countered an upbeat market sentiment following Republican Donald Trump's election as U.S. president.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 was down 0.1 per cent, while the FTSE 250 midcap index gained 0.3 per cent. Both indexes had rallied more than 1 per cent earlier in the session.

Trump was elected president, capping a remarkable comeback four years after he was voted out of the White House.

U.S. indexes soared in anticipation of looser regulations and lower corporate taxes in the U.S., but expectations of higher tariffs under a Trump presidency dented a basket of currencies, including the euro and the pound, as well as European shares.

The impact of higher inflation on corporate profit margins, and how interest rates might not drop as fast as previously anticipated, are real risks for investors to consider once the dust settles, according to Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

Trump's victory gave a push to defence stocks, given his warnings that he would scale back military support. The FTSE 350 aerospace and defence sector gained 3.4 per cent.

Persimmon's shares declined 8.6 per cent after the homebuilder flagged concerns about higher costs emerging in price negotiations for 2025, dragging the housebuilder index lower by 4.1 per cent.

Precious metals and mining shares dropped 2.3 per cent as gold prices retreated.

Ashtead climbed 5.5 per cent on expectations that a Trump victory would benefit the second-largest equipment-rental firm in the US.

Marks & Spencer jumped 3.8 per cent as the retailer forecast "further progress" in the rest of its financial year after reporting a better-than-expected 17.2 per cent rise in first-half profit.