Footsie drifts towards 4100 mark
The FTSE 100 Index drifted towards 4100 today as weak financial stocks weighed on the London market.
Banking group Barclays was leading the trek south after forecasting full-year profits would meet only the lower range of targets.
Rival banks were caught up in the gloomy mood and other financial stocks also eased.
The sector weighed heavily on the FTSE 100 and by lunchtime the top flight was trading 26.9 points lower at 4127.4.
Further subduing sentiment were expectations of a downbeat start on Wall Street this afternoon, adding to last night’s losses.
But Barclays was the main focus on the City’s attention today.
The group has been hit by turbulent conditions, particularly in its investment banking arm Barclays Capital.
As concerns grew that analysts might downgrade forecasts, shares slid 29p to 423p – a 6% slide that took nearly £2bn off Barclays’ value.
Royal Bank of Scotland lost 48p at 1582p, HBOS was off 22.5p at 685p, Lloyds TSB was 12p weaker at 533p and HSBC was 9p lower at 752p.
Elsewhere in the sector, insurer Royal & Sun Alliance continued its bumpy ride of recent months with a 9.5p fall to 139.5p while fund manager Amvescap shed 12.5p at 475p.
New economy stocks were also suffering as Sage dropped 13p to 150p.
The fall came despite the software group posting a 11% lift in final profits and expressing confidence for 2003.
But investors were unnerved by growth prospects after a weaker second half and analysts said shares were also sliding following recent strong gains.
Mobile phone giant Vodafone eased 1.25p to 122.5p and BT lost 4.75p at 207.75p.
But brewing giant Scottish & Newcastle bucked the trend with a 19p rise to 471p, making it the market’s biggest gainer at lunchtime.
It cheered investors after unveiling plans to cut debt by raising up to £700m via a ‘sale-and-manage back’ deal involving 600 pubs across the UK.
Pest control-to-tropical plants specialist Rentokil Initial was another riser, up 2% after saying trading continued to be “encouraging”.
Turnover for the ten months to October 31 was up 7.9% while pre-tax profits rose 9.5%. Shares lifted 4p to 217.5p.
But among smaller stocks, Po Na Na lost 4.5p at 25.5p – a 15% slide – as its in-house broker cut full-year forecasts for the second time.
The late night bars group, which posted interim figures today, has been hit by stiff competition and a shake up of its estate.
