Footsie makes poor start to week
The FTSE 100 Index ended today below the key 4900 barrier as gloom in London persisted despite upbeat trading on Wall Street.
The Footsie closed the session down 2.3 points at 4884.2.
Bookmaker William Hill set the negative tone as investors failed to warm to news it had agreed to buy a string of 624 betting shops from rival Stanley Leisure for £504m.
The stock was the heaviest top flight faller – off nearly 3% or 14.5p to 510.5p.
A number of companies going ex-dividend, meaning new investors are no longer entitled to dividends, also hit shares. Among those suffering were energy group Centrica, falling 4.75p to 227.5p, leisure firm Hilton, down 2p to 267p, BP off 5p at 528p and ITV easing a penny to 116p.
Supermarket group Morrisons, which issued another profits warning on Friday, made up lost ground despite going ex-dividend to stand 2% or 3.75p ahead at 191.25p.
In the United States, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied nearly 53 points as oil prices dropped to near a three-month low. The price of a barrel of US light crude dropped about 72 cents to just under 48 US dollars shortly after London’s close.
A weaker-than-expected report on manufacturing in the New York area also helped by easing concern that the Federal Reserve will step up the pace of interest rate increases.
Back in London, a series of retailers were doing their best to lift the mood after an upgrade from JP Morgan lifted Boots. The stock was up 4p to 596p, while Next added 22p to 1498p, Dixons cheered 1.5p to 145p and Marks & Spencer rose 3.25p to 326p.
Outside the top flight, Stanley Leisure was lifted by the William Hill acquisition, rising 2.5p to 524.5p.
Food producer Dairy Crest added 3.5p to 467p after confirming details of a £20 million deal for the UK’s largest regional dairy operator, Midlands Co-operative Dairies.
Robert Wiseman Dairies was also in the black, cheering 4.5p to 246p, as it forecast a more stable period for the milk industry. Wiseman unveiled a 15.3% drop in annual pre-tax profits to £24.7 million but described the results as “encouraging” against the backdrop of contract losses.
Cash machine operator Cardpoint saw its shares slump 8% – down 8.5p to 117.5p - after it warned that full year profits would be lower than expected due to delays in converting dispensers it bought from HBOS last year.
Shares in Manchester United were unchanged at 300p as investors awaited the latest news on US sports tycoon Malcolm Glazer’s holding. Mr Glazer was thought to have seized enough shares to take the team private.
Biggest risers were Xstrata up 24p at 932p, Antofagasta 25p ahead at 1077p, Carnival cruising forward 61p to 2915p and Morrison up 3.75p at 191.25p.
Biggest fallers included William Hill, down 14.5p to 510.5p, Centrica weakening 4.75p to 227.5p, Man Group falling 23p to 1162p and Emap shedding 11p to 755p.
