(Reuters) - London's FTSE 100 dipped on Tuesday as investors returning from a holiday-extended weekend overlooked U.S. President Donald Trump's softer stance on its trade war with China, while office space provider IWG scaled a life high after reports of U.S. listing plans.
Losses on the main index were led by Asia-focused financial stocks including HSBC <HSBA.L> and Prudential <PRU.L> after Hong Kong's leader said violence in the city's anti-government protests was becoming more serious.
The FTSE 100 <.FTSE> was 0.4% lower by 0710 GMT, starting off yet another week on the back foot after suffering losses for four consecutive weeks. The FTSE 250 midcap index <.FTMC> was down 0.1%.
Despite U.S. President Donald Trump's prediction of a trade deal with China after positive gestures by Beijing, traders are still awaiting more details after tit-for-tat tariffs that went north of $500 billion (407.27 billion pounds) weighed down financial markets last week.
IWG <IWG.L>, however, jumped 5% to be among top gainers on the midcap index after Sky News report over the weekend that the company was planning to list its U.S. arm in New York for three billion pounds.
(Reporting by Muvija M in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)
