Footsie slides below 4100 mark
The London market slid back below the 4,100 level today after trading was hurt by a disappointing statement from Barclays Bank and a tumble on Wall Street.
By the close of trading the FTSE 100 Index was down 78.9 points at 4075.4, following a subdued day which saw shares under pressure for the entire session.
A poor close on Wall Street on Monday night initially hurt the mood, while a slide from US exchanges on their opening today pushed UK stocks still lower.
By the time London closed, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was around 100 points adrift after being hurt by a disappointing outlook from AOL Time Warner, which warned of lower advertising revenue for the year ahead.
Among London stocks, banking group Barclays was one of the main fallers after forecasting full-year profits would meet only the lower range of targets.
The group, which has been hit by turbulent conditions, particularly in its investment banking arm Barclays Capital, saw shares slide 19p to 433p – a 4% tumble that took more than £1 billion off its value.
Rival banks were caught up in the gloomy mood and other financial stocks also eased.
Royal Bank of Scotland lost 79p at 1551p, HBOS was off 35p at 672.5p, Lloyds TSB was 14.5p weaker at 530.5p and HSBC was 14.5p lower at 746.5p.
Elsewhere in the sector, insurer Royal & Sun Alliance continued its bumpy ride of recent months with a 10.25p fall to 138.75p while fund manager Amvescap shed 33.5p at 454p.
Other fallers included accountancy software firm Sage, down 11p at 152p, a 7% slide.
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.
News and information group Reuters also fell, off 7%, or 16.75p at 218.75p, after a broker downgrade.
But brewing giant Scottish & Newcastle bucked the trend with a 14p rise to 466p after unveiling plans to cut debt by raising up to £700 million 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 1.75p at 215.25p after trading continued to be “encouraging”.
The group said turnover for the ten months to October 31 was up 7.9% while pre-tax profits rose 9.5%.
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.
The biggest Footsie risers were BAE Systems up 7.25p at 176.75p, Gallaher up 17.5p at 579p, Scottish & Newcastle up 14p at 466p and Scottish Power up 7.5p at 343.5p.
Fallers were Schroders NV down 59p at 480p, Reuters down 16.75p at 218.75p, Royal & Sun Alliance down 10.25p at 138.75p and Corus down 2.25p at 30.5p.
