FTSE 100 Modestly Lower In Cautious Trade

(RTTNews) - UK stocks are down in negative territory Friday morning, extending losses to a fourth straight session, as uncertainty surrounding U.S. President Donald Trump's trade policy, and the frequently changing stance on tariffs prompt investors to tread with caution.

Investors are also awaiting the crucial U.S. non-farm payroll data, and Fed Chair Jerome Powell's speech due later in the day for clues about the U.S. central bank's interest rates moves.

The benchmark FTSE 100 is down 35.61 points or 0.41% at 8647.23 a little before noon.

Schroders is declining 5.2% after reporting a drop in operating profit. The company has also unveiled plans for cost reductions.

LondonMetric Property is down 4.4%. Diageo, Endeavour Mining, Diploma, EasyJet, Rentokil Initial, IAG, Howden Joinery, Glencore and Hikma Pharmaceuticals are down 2 to 3%.

Hiscox, Scottish Mortgage, Anglo American Plc., Intermediate Capital, RightMove, Antofagasta, Experian, Informa, Centrica, IMI, Natwest Group, Barclays Group, B&M European Value Retail, Croda International and Next are lower by 1 to 2%.

Fresnillo is rising more than 2.5%. Vodafone Group is gaining about 1.5%, while Reckitt Benckiser, Taylor Wimpey, Coca-Cola HBC, Bunzl, Rolls-Royce Holdings and HSBC Holdings are up 0.5 to 1.1%.

UK house prices fell unexpectedly in February as demand started to soften with the stamp duty holiday to end on March 31, mortgage lender Halifax said.

House prices registered a monthly fall of 0.1% in February, reversing January's 0.6% increase. Prices were forecast to grow 0.5%.

Year-on-year, house prices advanced 2.9%, the same pace of growth as seen in January. Economists had forecast an annual growth of 3.1%.