Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG, said: “Poorly-received figures from BAT, Unilever and Barclays have meant that the FTSE 100 couldn’t hold the fresh record set in opening trading.
Weak earnings by a host of major UK firms dragged the FTSE lower, despite the economy reporting surprise growth in the final quarter of last year.
The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were British American Tobacco, down 299p to 3,095p, Unilever, down 268p to 4,483p, Barclays, down 14.5p to 293.25p, Whitbread, down 80p to 2,664p, and NatWest Group, down 13p to 437p.
In company news, British American Tobacco was a significant faller after it reported underwhelming vape sales in the US and forecast a slowdown across the smoking industry this year.
The maker of Camel and Lucky Strike cigarettes made 0.8% less in 2024 vape sales than the previous year in its key US market.
