FTSE 100 ends lacklustre day slightly lower after US markets slump

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The FTSE 100 saw a modest fall of 4.42 points to 6,736.17 by the close amid the continuing fall-out from the implosion of Archegos in the US.

By 4.30pm UK time the S&P 500 was down 0.5% to 3,953.57 as rumours swirled about which stocks might be affected.

Shares in publisher Daily Mail & General Trust (DMGT) jumped 8.3% to 926p after online car retailer Cazoo, in which it owns a 20% stake, announced plans for a $7 billion float in New York.

Pizza chain Domino's Pizza was up 1% to 354.8p after it agreed to sell its Iceland business for ISK 2.4 billion, or about £13.7 million, to PPH.

Proceeds from the sale, still subject to competition approval in Iceland, would initially be used to reduce debt, Domino's said.

Bowling alley operator Ten Entertainment shed 2.2% to 225p, having swung to a £17.7 million full-year loss after Covid-19 lockdowns crunched sales.

Ten Entertainment said it intended to reopen all of its centres on 17 May, based on the UK government's lockdown-easing roadmap.

Vietnamese company investor VinaCapital Vietnam Opportunity Fund dipped 0.2% to 412p as it upped its interim dividend on the back of a positive first-half performance.

VinaCapital's net asset value total return per share for the six months through December amounted to 28%. It increased its dividend to 6c per share, up from 5.5c year-on-year.

Biotechnology company Destiny Pharma rallied 17.1% to 186.7p after it released positive clinical trial results for a nasal gel designed to prevent post-surgical infections. The gel, known as XF-73, achieved reduced Staphylococcus aureus bacterial nasal carriage by 99.5%.

Nanomaterials manufacturer Nanoco climbed 4.7% to 22.5p on announcing that a trial date had been set in October for its patent infringement case against Samsung.

Rocky Mountain focused oil company Zephyr Energy jumped 9.6% to 2.25p, even as it launched a discounted £10 million share issue to fund a well in Utah and cover acquisitions in the Bakken formation in North Dakota.

New shares in the company were being offered at 2p each, a 2.5% discount to Zephyr Energy's closing price on Friday.

Real estate investment trust LXi REIT gained 2.1% to 124.2p amid news that it had acquired seven grocery stores from six different developers for a combined £85 million.

The assets included a Lidl store in London, an Asda store in Glasgow; a Tesco store in London, an Aldi store in Denbighshire and some Co-op convenience stores.

German residential property investor Phoenix Spree Deutschland dipped 1.1% to 326.5p, having posted a rise in annual profit on higher rental income, despite rent caps being imposed by authorities in Berlin.

The rent caps, or Mietendeckel, would continue to materially impact collected rents in 2021 compared to 2020 unless a legal challenge was successful, Phoenix Spree said.

Specialist cleaning company React rallied 4.3% to 2.1p on news that it had acquired commercial cleaner Fidelis Contract Services for up to £4.75 million.

Birmingham-headquartered Fidelis provided services to customers across England and Wales.