Footsie falls as Iceland shares dive
Supermarket group Iceland has had a tough start to the week, diving 6% after reports suggested its chairman Malcolm Walker was set to step down following criticism about a share sale.
Iceland's share dive came alongside a lacklustre market overall and, after an hour's trading, the FTSE-100 Index was off 9.2 points, standing at 6285.1.
Although Iceland insists Mr Walker did nothing wrong in selling £13 million worth of shares in December, a few weeks before the firm issued a disappointing trading statement, shares slid 13p in early trading to 191.50p.
With little corporate news to bolster shares, eyes were instead on the US, where the Federal Reserve is due to announce its key interest rate decision on Wednesday.
Expectations are for a 50 basis point cut, following the surprise rate cut earlier this month.
In the UK, telecoms and banks made a good start to the session, with Vodafone up .75p at 240.25p; and Telewest Communications up 5p at 146p.
Banking risers include Alliance & Leicester, up 25p at 725p; Lloyds TSB, up 1p at 730p; and Royal Bank of Scotland, up 6p to £13.36.
But a number of stocks came under pressure, including pharmaceuticals groups Shire Pharmaceuticals, off 13p at £12.70; Glaxo SmithKline, down 10p at £18.29; and medical equipment group Nycomed Amersham, off 19p at 572p.
