BAA and Vodafone can't stop FTSE fall
The London market was under renewed pressure today as fears over higher interest rates in the United States offset strong gains from BAA and Vodafone.
Firms earning money in dollars such as fund manager Amvescap and building materials company Hanson topped the blue-chip fallers board as the US currency weakened.
Concerns over higher inflation and interest rates in the US spilled across the Atlantic to send the FTSE 100 Index 74.4 points lower to 5716.6 by mid-morning.
It was a disappointing start to the week after a rally in the previous session saw it gain considerable lost ground ahead of the bank-holiday weekend.
The London market has been on a rollercoaster ride for two weeks, falling more than 500 points below its high of 6132 last month.
Today’s losses took the gloss off gains by airports operator BAA, which lifted 6% after the Spanish consortium bidding for the Heathrow and Gatwick owner increased its offer to 900p a share, valuing the company at £9.73bn (€14.2bn).
BAA rejected the offer from Ferrovial but its shares soared 52p to 872.5p, taking it to the top of the blue-chip riser’s board.
Shares in telecoms firm Vodafone lifted 2% or 2.5p to 122.25p after the company achieved underlying profits of £8.79bn (€12.8bn) for the year to March 31, compared with £7.8bn (€11.4bn) a year earlier.
The firm unveiled total losses of £14.85bn (€21.7bn), caused by the company writing down the value of its assets, but it was already expected in the City and chief executive Arun Sarin said the performance of the group remained good.
The losses were also sweetened with news of a much higher dividend payment to investors.
But dollar earners Amvescap and Hanson topped the fallers board, down 4% each, or 20.5p to 509.5p and 24p to 656p respectively.
Elsewhere, set-top box maker Pace Micro Technology fell 12% or 6.5p to 47.5p after it issued a second profits warning in three months.
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