By Emily Horton

Sterling falls as Brexit anxieties build

London stocks fell into the red on Friday, as mining stocks fell on worries over China's economy and investors looked ahead to the outcome of a key G-20 meeting between the U.S. and Chinese presidents.

Sterling slipped as investors fretted over whether U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal will get approved in parliament next month.

What are markets doing?

The U.K.'s FTSE 100 fell 0.7%, after closing up 0.5% late Thursday.

The pound eased to $1.2760, after finishing at $1.2788 the night before.

What is driving the market?

Ahead of the G-20 leaders summit this weekend, May promised a "good deal" for the global economy from the Brexit agreement, reported Sky News (https://news.sky.com/story/theresa-may-promises-world-leaders-economic-boost-from-brexit-deal-11567281) (https://news.sky.com/story/theresa-may-promises-world-leaders-economic-boost-from-brexit-deal-11567281) (https://news.sky.com/story/theresa-may-promises-world-leaders-economic-boost-from-brexit-deal-11567281) (https://news.sky.com/story/theresa-may-promises-world-leaders-economic-boost-from-brexit-deal-11567281) (https://news.sky.com/story/theresa-may-promises-world-leaders-economic-boost-from-brexit-deal-11567281). But sterling brushed that off, slipping on fears she faces an uphill battle with the deal next month.

But any gains U.K. stocks would have seen from a weaker currency were eroded as investors focused on stalling factory activity (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/chinas-factory-activity-stalls-in-november-2018-11-30) and weak construction data (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/china-nonmanufacturing-pmi-hits-15-month-low-2018-11-30) from China. Mining stocks are susceptible to any signs of a slowdown in the world's second-largest economy as the country is a big buyer of natural resources.

Worries about trade-conflict fears in the run up to President Donald Trump's and Chinese President Xi Jinping's meeting at the G-20 also plagued global stocks on Friday. U.S. stock futures were pointing toward a weaker opening (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stocks-poised-to-retreat-as-g-20-summit-gets-under-way-2018-11-30) for the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 .

Read:Watch out for December 'risk liquidation' if Trump/Xi meeting disappoints (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/watch-out-for-december-risk-liquidation-if-trumpxi-meeting-disappoints-2018-11-30)

What stocks are active?

Among resource stocks, copper miner Antofagasta(ANTO.LN) dropped 3.8% while Rio Tinto PLC (RIO.LN) fell 1.2%, BHP Group PLC (BHP.AU) dropped 1% and Glencore PLC (GLEN.LN) fell 0.9%.

Read:Oil slips back toward $50 (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-slips-back-toward-50-ahead-of-looming-g-20-opec-production-talks-2018-11-30)

Banking stocks also weighed, with HSBC Holding PLC (HSBA.LN) down 1% and Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LLOY.LN) off 0.9%.

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 30, 2018 08:28 ET (13:28 GMT)

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