FTSE close: Wolseley, Tesco up; LSE down
After falling for the majority of the day, the FSTE 100 managed to turn its fortunes around in late afternoon trading following a positive US opening.
By 3pm the FTSE 100 index had managed to regain some ground but was still down 10.76 points at 5,232.64, as the boost to trading caused by recent strong quarterly results started to fade.
London investors had been bracing themselves for another lacklustre session on Wall Street but by close of play on the UK's blue-chip index, the Dow Jones, had risen by 33 points to 10,074.
The FTSE 100, responded well, finishing 14.45 points ahead, at 5,257.85.
Pressure on commodity prices saw miners occupy the lower end of the leader-board. Kazakhmys closed 5p off at 1283p, Xstrata lost 7.5p to 994.5p and Lonmin was 31p lower at 1,691p.
Notably Bloomberg reports that today, in Seoul, South Korea, the UK's most famous investor, Anthony Bolton of Fidelity, said the he believed that commodity stocks were presently peaking but he was confident the market rally would continue.
He said: 'Despite the fact that markets have risen well off their lows, I think we're in a bull market I expect to go on.'
Jimmy Yates, of broker, CMC Markets, added: 'Commodities have been in the news a lot today as the oil price dropped back below $78 before shooting back up through the $80 level.
'The BoE meeting minutes showed a unanimous decision to defer the decision on the extension of QE. All eyes will now be on tomorrows meeting as we look for further signs of easing in policy.'
Shares in the high street banks reacted phlegmatically to the firebrand speech from Bank of England Mervyn King last night, in which he both tore apart the Government's economic legacy and launched a strongly worded call for banks to be carved up and slapped down.
Lloyds Banking Group, finished 0.15p dearer at 91.5p, Barclays firmed 1.2p to 364.95p and HSBC put on 9p to 703p but Royal Bank of Scotland fell, 0.75p to 45.83p.
Engineering firm Smiths Group led the fallers' board, down 37p to 932.5p, while BSkyB slipped 12.5p to 570p. Supermarket Tesco posted one of the biggest gains after broker Nomura flagged up the chain's growth potential, particularly in the UK. Tesco shares rose 8.95p to 392.45p, while rival Morrisons added 2.7p to 275.8p and Marks & Spencer gained 3.2p to 349.7p.
Sainsbury's proved the exception as shares have been inflated in recent days by fresh takeover speculation involving its Qatari shareholders. The stock was off 2.1p at 345.7p. Insurer Admiral topped the blue-chips over the day after rising, 36p, or 3%, to 1,095p while plumbing supplies group Wolseley was also a strong performer on the day with a 41p gain to 1,455p after BofA Merrill Lynch upgraded its stance on the stock to 'buy' from 'underperform'.
The broker also upped its recommendation on blue-chip real estate firms Hammerson, to 'buy' from 'neutral', and Land Securities, to 'neutral' from 'underperform'. The shares rose 2.4p to 424.4p and 13.5p to 660.5p respectively. Cadbury shares were 0.5p higher at 799p after it turned up the pressure on bid suitor Kraft by raising revenues guidance for the full year. London Stock Exchange shed 20.5p to 914p, one of the biggest fallers, after Goldman Sachs cut its rating on the firm to 'neutral' on valuation grounds and removed the stock from its Pan-European 'Conviction buy' list.
Prudential fell 6.5p to 623p after the Financial Times reported that the life insurer is thought to be conducting a preliminary assessment of the likely benefits of a separate listing in Shanghai or Hong Kong. Argos and Homebase owner Home Retail Group was flat at 308.1p, after it said it remained cautious about trading prospects in the second half of the year, despite delivering half-year results in line with expectations.
Analysts said Christmas trading would be key in determining whether the company meets full-year forecasts.
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