THE LONDON REPORT
BRITAIN’S leading share index shed 1.1 per cent yesterday, ending at session lows, dragged back by weakness in oil majors and banks on lingering anxiety over the impact of Dubai’s debt problems.
By the close, the FTSE 100 was down 55.05 points at 5,190.68, its lowest closing level for three weeks.
The blue chip index rallied 1 per cent higher on Friday having dropped 3.2 per cent in the previous session, its biggest one-day percentage fall in eight months, after Dubai sought a debt standstill for state-owned Dubai World.
The United Arab Emirates offered banks emergency support on Sunday, the first steps to ease fears that a looming debt default by two of Dubai’s flagship firms could derail the global economic recovery.
“It has been another session dominated by nervousness surrounding the debt situation in Dubai … major indices look reluctant to post any gains on suspicions that we could well get yet more surprises,” said James Hughes, market analyst at CMC Markets.
Energy issues were the biggest drag on the UK blue chip index with crude prices around $4 below the $80 a barrel level set earlier this month. BP, BG Group, Royal Dutch Shell and Tullow Oil lost 0.7 to 2 per cent.
But explorer Cairn Energy managed to gain 1.3 per cent helped by an expansion in the North Atlantic.
Banks were weaker amid ongoing concerns over their potential exposure to Dubai’s debt problems.
Lloyds Banking Group was the top blue-chip faller, down 5.9 per cent as brokers adjusted targets ex-rights, while Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays and Standard Chartered shed 1.9 to 4.5 per cent.
HSBC, however, just bucked the trend, up 0.1 per cent, lifted by a BofA Merrill Lynch upgrade to “buy” from “neutral”.
Insurers were weak reflecting equity market falls, with Legal & General, Aviva, Standard Life, and Prudential losing 2.1 to 4.5 per cent.
Miners ended mixed after a choppy session, with Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, Xstrata and Kazakhmys shedding 0.1 to 0.3 per cent, while Anglo American added 0.6 per cent.
Eurasian Natural Resources was the top FTSE 100 riser, gaining 1.9 per cent as Credit Suisse upped its rating to “outperform” from “neutral”.
Travel companies were mostly higher. British Airways gained 0.8 per cent, rallying after sharp falls on Friday, ahead of traffic numbers due later this week.
Tour operator TUI Travel gained 0.9 per cent on hopes its fourth-quarter results, due today, would be strong.
But peer Thomas Cook shed 1.9 per cent as its above-forecast first-half results were offset by a warning that trading conditions could become even more challenging in 2010.
US blue chips were 0.4 per cent lower by London’s close in choppy trade as Dubai debt concerns countered optimism on Thanksgiving holiday retail sales and a stronger than expected report on business activity.
A report from the Institute for Supply Management-Chicago showed business activity in the US Midwest expanded more strongly than expected in November.
“As this week goes on focus may shift to the key jobs report in the US on Friday but until then it seems that Dubai will be the major talking point and we can expect jittery traders to see a degree of volatility until some much needed clarity can be seen regarding the crisis,” James Hughes said.