Miners drag London stocks lower as US-China trade tensions sap sentiment

(Reuters) -London stocks fell on Tuesday, led by declines in miners, as investors fretted over the economic fallout from mounting U.S.-China trade tensions.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 was down 0.44%, as of 1055 GMT, and domestically focused FTSE 250 fell 0.6%.

Both indexes rose on Monday after U.S. President Trump struck a more conciliatory tone, posting that "it will all be fine" and that the U.S. had no intention to "hurt" China.

However, both countries on Tuesday began charging additional tit-for-tat port fees on ocean shipping firms that move everything from holiday toys to crude oil.

Industrial metal miners shed 2.1%, tracking weaker copper prices. [MET/L]

Anglo American, Glencore and Rio Tinto were among the biggest losers on the FTSE 100, falling between 1.8% and 3.2%.

Energy heavyweight BP dropped nearly 2% after flagging weak oil trading performance.

Aerospace & defence sub-index fell 1.9%, heading for the fourth consecutive session of losses.

Data showed on Tuesday, growth in average British earnings slowed slightly in the three months to August, suggesting the Bank of England may be able to continue cutting interest rates, albeit very gradually.

BoE officials held interest rates at 4% last month and continue to monitor inflationary pressures, including wage growth. Meanwhile, investors are fully pricing in the next rate cut only by April 2026, according to LSEG data.

The British homebuilders index gained 1.8% after the government unveiled planning reforms aimed at speeding up housing construction.

Bellway rose 5.9% after it raised its dividend and announced a 150-million-pound ($199.20 million) share buyback after beating annual pretax profit expectations.

Peers Persimmon and Berkeley rose 2% and 1.9, respectively.

EasyJet climbed 4.7% after media reports of the budget airliner's possible acquisition by global shipping company Mediterranean Shipping.

Mitie gained the most on the FTSE 250, up 8.6%, after the outsourcer resumed buy-back with share repurchase programme and hiking profit forecasts.

(Reporting by Sanchayaita Roy and Avinash P in Bengaluru; Editing by Eileen Soreng)