Flat day on FTSE as LSE trading closes
END-OF-DAY REPORT: Headline shares closed a range-bound session flat, with the market struggling to find a focus as profit-takers took the cream off yesterday’s strong gains, with Wall Street lacking momentum.
At the close of play, the FTSE100 was up just 4.63 points at 5,371.04 with the FTSE250 ahead 80.08 points at 10,140.97 and the FTSE Smallcaps 24.42 points higher at 2,840.
NEW YORK
US stocks were mixed in late morning trade as investors mulled pending home sales and factory orders data.
Approaching the close in London, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 12 points at 10,258, the S&P500 rose 4 points at 1,084 and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 12 points at 2,189.
LONDON MARKETS
Investors in London consolidated some of the previous session’s strong gains. There was little direction with most major sectors putting in a mixed performance.
Oil producers made modest progress as crude hovered around $74 a barrel, with Shell up 3.5p at 1,724p and BP ahead 3.85p at 392.6p, while BG Group rose 6p at 1,084p. Tullow Oil slipped 49p at 1,185p, dogged by Uganda licence concerns, the worst FTSE performer of the day.
Mining issues proved a major burden early on but turned mixed, with Lonmin off 30p at 1,577p, and yesterday’s star player Fresnillo sliding 22p at 1,097p, while Rio Tinto fell 18p at 3,483. Vedanta gained 41p at 2,011p and Anglo American improved 8.5p at 2,465p.
The retail sector was generally buoyant, with Tesco one of the rare losers, off 3.7p at 412.2p, as investors raised doubts over its plans for accelerated expansion in Asia.
Another major blue chip casualty was chip maker ARM Holdings, down 14.1p at 360p as its recent good run ran into sand.
Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca failed to take advantage of news its Seroquel XR treatment has received the green light from the EC, falling 5p at 3,280p.
News of missed targets from French rival Pernod-Ricard pushed drinks behemoth Diageo down 5p at 1,092p.
To the upside, commercial software house Autonomy was a firm gainer, ahead 85p at 1,716p, as bid rumours circulated.
Defence contractor BAE System was in demand, up 11.3p at 313.3p, after being raised to buy from hold at Investec, although the target price was lowered to 340p from 350p.
Insurers found new friends, with Prudential climbing 4p at 584p, Aviva 6.9p better at 395.2p and Legal & General 0.85p better at 95.2p.
Builders’ merchant Wolseley rose 21p at 1,357p on being upgraded to neutral from underweight at JP Morgan, target stays 1,380p.
However, hedge fund manager Man Group topped the leaderboard at the close, up 12.5p at 229p.
