Weaker oil stocks dampen FTSE
The FTSE 100 Index failed to hold on above the 5,000 barrier today after weaker oil and banking stocks dampened hopes of a strong session.
London traders initially gained strength from New York trading but the boost proved short-lived as the Footsie stood 8.8 points lower at 4986.1 by mid-morning.
One of the factors behind the weak start included a hangover from the Barclays statement yesterday that bad debt levels were rising.
Barclays slipped another 3p to 525p while Royal Bank of Scotland eased 3p to 1603p and Lloyds TSB fell 4p to 454p.
The only improvement from the banking sector came from HSBC as shares rose 2p to 872p – on the day it faced its annual meeting as well as a strike over pay.
A slightly weaker oil price affected oil stocks with BP down 6p at 554.5p and Shell slipped 2p to 485.5p.
Retail company Kingfisher was another casualty, off 3.5p at 258.25p as investors continued to react to yesterday’s poor first quarter trading update.
And leisure company Whitbread gave back some of yesterday’s 7% rise, falling 16p to 909p as investors cooled their interest in speculation linking private equity firms to a possible bid for the business.
The earlier cheer from New York came after the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 79 points stronger on the back of a surprise GDP revision.
In London, media companies were in positive territory with Emap ahead 7.5p at 817.5p and BSkyB up 4p at 549.5p.
On a quiet session for corporate news, dairy group Arla initially lost ground in the wake of its interim results, before recovering to stand quarter of a penny higher at 64.75p.
Arla said profits doubled to £10.1 million in the six months to March 31, but warned rising oil prices had forced it to pay more for its packaging and fuel at a time when utility bills and the price of steel all moved higher.
