FTSE fails to build on yesterday's gains
Hopes that the London market could build on yesterday's rally were dashed today as investors gave the thumbs down to updates from Whitbread and BP.
Leisure giant Whitbread fell more than 3% or 32p to 931.5p as investors looked beyond solid growth at its Premier Travel Inn business to falling earnings at its pub restaurants arm.
Record profits by BP in the third quarter also failed to excite traders as concerns lingered over the impact of recent hurricanes, contributing to the Footsie falling 15 points to 5192.6 by mid-morning.
Analysts had hoped the Footsie would continue to recover from its recent weakness after closing above the 5200 level yesterday and following a bullish session on Wall Street last night where the Dow Jones Industrial Average put on nearly 170 points.
BP – the UK’s largest quoted company – moved 4.5p lower to 612p after analysts said its net income was slightly below the consensus expectations. Major rival Royal Dutch Shell was also under pressure and eased 16p to 1742p.
Another faller was pharmaceuticals giant GlaxoSmithKline after it halted the enrolment of patients for trials of a new AIDS treatment amid fears that it can cause liver damage.
GlaxoSmithKline, which is due to report third-quarter numbers on Thursday, stood 20p lower at 1408p.
Among the risers, mining stocks were prominent for the second consecutive session and were led by Antofagasta which lifted 18p to 1468p. BHP Billiton was 6.5p stronger at 814p and Rio Tinto ticked 16p higher to 2138p.
Elsewhere, fallen telecoms giant Marconi rose 7p to 358p after agreeing to sell off the bulk of its assets to rival Ericsson in a deal worth around £1.2bn (€1.77bn).
Marconi effectively put itself up for sale after it missed out on a contract from BT – its biggest customer – for the £10bn (€14.6bn) upgrade of its network.
