BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - U.K. shares opened on a tepid note Tuesday as investors awaited further clarity on the U.S.-China trade talks.
The benchmark FTSE 100 was down 7 points at 7,389 after climbing 1 percent in the previous session.
Shares of Compass Group tumbled 5 percent. The catering company has reported a higher annual underlying operating profit, but warned that it is not immune to the macro environment.
'Deteriorating business and consumer confidence in Europe has impacted our business and industry volumes, new business activity and margin,' Group chief executive Dominic Blakermore said.
National Grid rose half a percent after it agreed to lift its moratorium on new gas service applications in downstate New York for a two-year period.
CRH shares rallied 2 percent. The building materials group said that its nine-month EBITDA, a key earnings metric, climbed 27 percent to 3.2 billion euros from last year's 2.5 billion euros. On a like-for-like basis, EBITDA grew 7 percent.
Real estate investment trust Shaftesbury slumped 4 percent after its profit for the year ended 30 September 2019 dropped to 26.0 million pounds from last year's 175.5 million pounds.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX