The FTSE 100 fell for the first time in five sessions as a clutch of blue-chip firms traded ex-dividend. A 0.8% decline for the FTSE 100 pulled it back from three-week highs. The UK 100 benchmark has bounced from its March lows but has underperformed its US and European peers as data points to a much bigger hit to the UK economy from the health crisis. Key sectors such as housing have begun to show signs of a rebound but things may quickly reverse once the government’s jobs subsidy programme closes in less than three months’ time and a tax cut expires at the end of March.
