FTSE plunges 91 points
Shares in London plunged back into the red today as the markets failed to build on strong gains in the previous session.
The FTSE 100 Index drifted back below the 5600 mark as uncertainty returned to the Square Mile and investors banked quick profits following yesterday’s rise.
Aggressive selling sent the Footsie down 91.6 points to 5587.1 at close with mining, oil and banking stocks all under pressure.
The fall dashed hopes that yesterday’s gains of almost 150 points signalled the end of the recent turmoil that has seen the Footsie dive from a five-year high of 6132 in a matter of weeks.
Mining stocks weighed heavily on the market today with Kazakhmys off 6% to 1020.5p and Xstrata down 3% to 1885p.
Oil stocks were also feeling the pressure as BP and Royal Dutch Shell eased 3% or 15p to 620p and 2% or 38p to 1799p respectively, due to fears of easing crude prices.
Banks were on the back foot with Standard Chartered down 31p to 1287p. It was followed down by Lloyds TSB – 7p lower at 493p – HBOS, off 11p to 902.5p, and HSBC, which slipped 5.5p to 924p.
B&Q owner Kingfisher gave up early gains to slide 2% lower, or 4.75p to 226.5p, as investors digested a 70% slump in UK profits as the home improvement market remained tough.
And GUS edged lower as its profits came in just ahead of market expectations.
Shares dropped 17p to 928p as the company also outlined plans to demerge its retail arm, which includes Argos and Homebase, from credit-checking firm Experian in October.
Scottish Power closed at the top of the riser’s board, up 2% or 10.5p to 553.5p, after it revealed a 47% rise in annual profits to £675 million. It also warned that further rises in household gas and electricity bills were unavoidable as it grappled with the higher cost of wholesale gas.
Centrica, which owns Scottish Power rival British Gas, was also buoyed by the news as its shares ticked 3p higher to 271p.
Outside the top flight, shares in the UK’s biggest commercial radio broadcaster Gcap Media fell 2% or 4.25p to 240p after it said its decision to slash the number of adverts on flagship station Capital Radio contributed to a sharp fall in profits.
Food and dairy group Dairy Crest drifted 1% down, losing 2p to 441.75p after reporting a decline in pre-tax profits due to rising energy costs and the loss of a contract to supply milk to Tesco, which outweighed strong sales of its branded cheeses and spreads.
The day’s biggest top flight risers were Scottish Power up 10.5p to 553.5p, Centrica up 3p to 271p, British American Tobacco up 14p to 1324p and Reckitt Benckiser up 9p to 1974p.
The day’s biggest top flight fallers were PartyGaming off 8.5p to 122.75p, Kazakhmys down 62p to 1020.5p, International Power down 13.5p to 265.75p and Cairn Energy off 104p to 2083p.
