London follows New York down
Heavy falls by shares across the Atlantic last night set the tone for the London market today.
Modest gains by a number of retailers were not enough to prevent the FTSE 100 Index weakening 21.6 points to 4797.5 by mid-morning.
Disappointing results from a clutch of US firms left the Dow Jones Industrial Average nearly 90 points lower last night, with the picture worsening afterwards when internet auctioneer Ebay missed targets.
The heaviest faller in London was brewer SABMiller, after it was reported to be the frontrunner to take control of Colombian company Grupo Empresarial Bavaria. The stock fell 3%, off 24.5p to 806p.
Other losers included a string of media stocks, with Reuters off 7.25p to 388p, FT-owner Pearson down 10p to 610p and ITV retreating 1.5p to 113.75p.
Retailer Boots was one of the few companies in the black, rising 3p to 665p, as investors continued to warm to yesterday’s trading update. Marks & Spencer also lifted 1.25p to 350.75p and Dixons advanced 0.25p to 160p.
Insurer Legal & General was unchanged at 114.5p after new business figures came in at the top of market expectations. The news failed to inspire investors in rival Royal & Sun Alliance, which was the second heaviest faller with a drop of 1.75p to 84.5p.
Corporate news was mainly dominated by firms outside the top flight, including Laura Ashley, which slipped 4% or half a penny to 11.25p after revealing difficult trading in the home furnishings sector had contributed to a further sales slump.
Electricals group Kesa was unchanged at 304p after reporting strong demand for multimedia and digital products over Christmas, despite sales growth slowing at flagship chain Comet.
Quarrying-to-concrete group Aggregate Industries lost a penny to 138.75p after saying it had agreed to a 132p a share takeover offer by the world’s second biggest cement maker, Holcim.
