We start today’s coverage of trade in London by paying respects to Sir Ivan Menezes, the CEO of Diageo, who sadly passed away after a short illness.

“This is an incredibly sad day. Ivan was undoubtedly one of the finest leaders of his generation,” said Javier Ferrán, Chairman, Diageo.

“Ivan was there at the creation of Diageo and over 25 years, shaped Diageo to become one of the best performing, most trusted and respected consumer companies. I saw first-hand his steadfast commitment to our people and to creating a culture that enabled everyone to thrive. He invested his time and energy in people at every level of the company and saw potential that others may have overlooked. This is one of many reasons why he was beloved by our employees, past and present.”

Sir Ivan was instrumental in turning Diageo into one of the world’s leading drinks companies and oversaw steady and measured increases in the share price for investors.

“Sir Ivan Menezes will be remembered for transforming Diageo’s fortunes and making it the powerhouse it is today in the spirit sector. He was greatly admired by the business community and by investors,” said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.

“In his 10 years as chief executive, he focused on high-end brands, recognising that consumer tastes were evolving and that people were prepared to pay a premium price for a quality product.

“Sir Ivan paid a lot of attention to culture within the business, while also making sure Diageo was a leader in the fields of sustainability, inclusivity and diversity.”

FTSE 100 Movers

The FTSE 100 was broadly flat at the time of writing on Wednesday, having reversed early losses. Poor Chinese economic data meant the FTSE 100 started the day on the back foot, but buyers gradually stepped in throughout the session.

China is reported to be considering stimulus measures to help support the economy. The hopes for action from the Chinese authorities contained sentiment on Wednesday.

CNBC reports economists predict stimulus measures will be focused on the property sector, a key driver of the wealth effect in China.

“The stimulus package could be centered on the property sector, with expansionary monetary and fiscal policies to keep up growth momentum,” Citi economists wrote in a note.

UK housebuilders were weaker after the Halifax House Pirce Index recorded the first annual decline in UK house prices since 2012. Taylor Wimpey, Persimmon, and Berkeley Group Holdings were all weaker at the time of writing.

Associated British Foods was the FTSE 100’s top riser a day after announcing a cash acquisition of National Milk Records for £48m or 215p per National Milk Records shares. National Milk Records is listed on the AQUIS Stock Exchange.

The FTSE 100 dipped on Tuesday as Monday’s support from higher oil prices quickly evaporated. Oil majors were among the top fallers as oil prices erased all of the gains made yesterday on the back of OPEC’s production cut.

The FTSE 100 was trading at 7,575, down 0.3% at the time of writing.

Oil prices fell with stocks and the dollar after US ISM Services missed expectations. The miss suggests the US economy is starting to slow.

“The week’s early optimism has been clouded by renewed concerns about a looming recession in the America, while the repercussions of the banking crisis appear to be coming back to bite big US lenders,” said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets, Hargreaves Lansdown

Streeter continued to explain the slowdown in US services could be enough reason for the Federal Reserve to hold off on any more rate hikes in the short-term.

“While signs of further slowing in activity is not great news for the US economy overall, it’s music to the ears of Fed policymakers who are anxious for signs that inflation is responding to monetary tightening,” Streeter said.

“The ISM Services PMI reading, showing a slowdown in growth in May is another nugget of data to add to the growing weight of evidence that interest rate rises are having the desired effect, and bets are rising that the Fed will press pause next week. But it’s going to keep its powder dry and another rate hike could still come this summer.”

FTSE 100 movers

Shell was the FTSE 100’s top faller at the time of writing despite Deutsche Bank adding the oil major to their ‘catalyst call buy idea’ list with a 2,907p price target.

Shell was down 2.5% while BP gave up 1.8%.

Ocado and abrdn shares were higher after the companies avoided demotion to the FTSE 250. This week, it was confirmed British Land would drop down to the mid-cap index to be replaced by IMI plc.