| Santa was nowhere to be seen in London equity markets on Christmas Eve, with stocks kicking off the last session before the holidays in the red following more heavy losses on Wall Street just before the weekend. At 0840 GMT, the FTSE 100 was down 0.5% to 6,686.00, with volumes much thinner than usual on what will be just a half day of trading, as many traders have already stepped away from their desks for the Christmas holidays. Meanwhile, the pound was up 0.2% at 1.2670 and 0.1% firmer versus the euro at 1.1121. On Friday, US stocks tumbled amid worries about global economic growth and the temporary US government shutdown. The Dow slumped 1.8% to 22,445.37, the S&P 500 closed down 2.1% at 2,416.62 and the Nasdaq slid 3% to 6,332.99. The mood was also undermined by comments from Trump’s acting chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, who suggested that the government shutdown that kicked off at midnight on Friday after Trump and the Democrats remained at odds over funding for a border wall with Mexico, could continue right up to the opening of the next Congress on 3 January. Comments from White House trade adviser Peter Navarro also did little to help the tone, after he said the US might not reach a trade deal with China in the next three months unless Beijing can agree to a "profound overhaul" of its trade and industrial practices. In addition, investors were digesting news that US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin held calls with top US bankers over the weekend following the recent selloff in equity markets and convened a "Plunge Protection Team". Rumours about Trump asking whether he could fire Jerome Powell as chair of the Federal Reserve were also swirling over the weekend. Unsurprisingly, UK corporate news was scarce. Anglo American retreated despite raising its 2019 guidance for its Minas-Rio iron ore operation in Brazil after receiving regulatory approval relating to the Step 3 licence area. The mining giant said it now expected production to be 18m -20m tonnes (wet basis), from the previous guidance of 16m -19m. Online gaming company Playtech fell sharply as it said new Italian gambling taxes would hit Adjusted EBITDA by approximately €20m-25m. The Italian Senate on Sunday passed the government's 2019 budget which includes legislation to increase taxation on various types of gambling activities. The legislation is expected to receive final approvals, including from the Chamber of Deputies, before the end of 2018, Playtech said. Whitbread was on the front foot after saying late on Friday that the EU had cleared its sale of the Costa coffee chain to Coca-Cola and announcing a £500m share buyback. | 
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