LONDON — The FTSE 100 in London was down 0.3 percent to 6,942.22 in mid-morning trading on Friday, a bank holiday in most countries on the Continent.
The French, German and Italian markets were all shut for the annual May Day holiday.
The euro traded at $1.12, while the pound fetched $1.54, and the Swiss franc equaled $1.07 at 10:50 a.m. CET.
U.K. retail and luxury stocks were mostly up, with the morning’s biggest gainers including Tesco, 1.2 percent to 2.24 pounds; Gemfields, 1.3 percent to 0.61 pounds; and French Connection Group, 2.1 percent to 0.44 pounds.
Among the stocks to lose the most ground were Koovs.com, 3.3 percent to 0.74 pounds; Marks & Spencer, 0.6 percent to 5.50 pounds; Asos.com, 0.9 percent to 37.26 pounds; and Jimmy Choo, 0.5 percent to 1.70 pounds.
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