Little movement for FTSE
The FTSE 100 Index lost hold of early gains today after retailers were unsettled by the prospect of another hike in interest rates next month.
Tesco and Next were among the fallers as investors reacted to the minutes of the Bank of England's last meeting, when members of its monetary policy committee came within one vote of backing an increase to 5.75%.
The Footsie stood 42 points higher at one point, but hopes of recovering heavy losses on Tuesday were dashed as the top flight closed 0.9 points lower at 6649.3. That was despite a strong session for mining stocks after higher copper prices buoyed stocks.
Vedanta Resources was the chief beneficiary, up more than 3%, or 53p, at 1624p, while Lonmin was ahead 75p at 4254p and Kazakhmys lifted 22p at 1309p.
Takeover speculation also helped lift several firms with bid rumours re-emerging over property company Hammerson. Talk of a bid from a US real estate firm sent the shares 1%, or 13p, higher at 1516p.
In the financial sector bid talk swirled around Lloyds TSB and HSBC. Lloyds benefited for a while on rumours of interest from French bank Societe Generale, although the stock later closed just 2p higher at 576.5p. HSBC added 8.5p to 933.5p on rumours of its interest in Greek bank Alpha Bank.
Other risers included Rolls-Royce - up 7p to 552p - on a host of contract wins announced at this week's Paris air show, as well as British Airways which was 7.25p ahead at 431.75p after its credit rating was improved by Standard & Poor's.
Retailers dominated the fallers board amid fears of a further tightening in consumer confidence.
Supermarket group Morrisons topped the list after Sainsbury's joined Tesco in warning of a more competitive trading environment.
Morrisons fell 8.5p to 292.75p, while Tesco was off 6.5p at 428p, but Sainsbury's closed 2.5p higher at 583.5p after the company said underlying like-for-like sales lifted 5.1%, slightly below some analysts expectations of around 5.5%. Sentiment towards the stock has been boosted by takeover speculation.
Cadbury Schweppes slid 2%, or 12p, to 688p as investors remained unimpressed with its plans to axe 7,500 jobs and sell off its beverages division.
DSG International fell nearly 1% after the Currys owner posted a sharp fall in annual profits and said it would not be exercising an option to buy into Russian retailer Eldorado.
The stock was down a penny at 169.5p, even though DSG said its financial year had started well, with operations in Italy also showing signs of recovery following a troubled performance last year.
In the FTSE 250 Index, Tullow Oil continued to surge - up almost 13% or 57.5p at 504.5p - as investors piled in following its major discovery off Ghana earlier this week.
The biggest Footsie risers were Vedanta Resources up 53p at 1624p, Invesco ahead 19.5p at 634.5p, Standard Life up 9p at 349p and Man Group ahead 13.5p at 625.5p.
The biggest fallers were Morrisons down 8.5p at 292.75p, Centrica off 10p at 376.75p, Land Securities down 39p at 1792p and Compass off 7.5p at 362p.
