FTSE 100 muted as banks offset gains in miners; tariff worries linger

By Tharuniyaa Lakshmi

Feb 24 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 was little changed on Tuesday, as gains in miners and utilities were offset by losses in financials, while investors assessed U.S. President Donald Trump's shifting trade stance.

The blue-chip index .FTSE closed flat, while the domestically focused mid-cap FTSE 250 .FTMC slipped 0.1%.

Industrial metal miners .FTNMX551020 were the biggest boosts to the FTSE 100, with Rio Tinto RIO.L and Glencore GLEN.L rising more than 1% each as the copper price hit its highest in over a week.

British technology stocks .FTUB1010 rose 0.6% after artificial intelligence firm Anthropic announced new ways for customers to integrate its tools into their workflows. Most U.S. tech stocks also advanced.

Despite the modest rebound, underlying AI jitters persisted, said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank, adding that investors remained fragile.

Banks .FTNMX301010 fell 0.5%, tracking declines in global financials. Standard Chartered STAN.L dipped 1.4% despite reporting a rise in full-year pretax profit, announcing a $1.5 billion share buyback and a 65% jump in its annual dividend.

The U.S. began collecting a temporary new 10% global import tariff, though the Trump administration is working to lift the rate to 15%, amid confusion over trade policy after the Supreme Court last week ruled against Trump's previous tariff hikes.

Britain negotiated a reciprocal 10% tariff rate with Washington last year, and trade minister Peter Kyle said he was confident that agreement would remain in place.

Separately, Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey pointed to the possibility of a March rate cut but warned that services inflation remained high.

Among individual movers, Convatec CTEC.L jumped 10.3% to the top of the FTSE 100 after the medical equipment maker raised its medium-term organic revenue target on the back of a strengthening product pipeline.

Croda CRDA.L climbed 7.6% after the speciality chemicals maker forecast strong 2028 profit margins as it continues streamlining its operations following last year's subdued demand in some regions linked to U.S. tariffs.