FTSE close: Lloyds down; Vedanta, Ryanair up
Updates throughout the day
16.40
The FTSE 100 closed down 20.80 at 5196.81
Wall Street initially opened up, lifted initially by better-than-expected earnings results from the technology sector.
However, geopolitical concerns soured the mood. Iraq claimed that 11 Iranian troops had entered its territory and raised the Iranian flag at an oilfield whose ownership which is disputed. With investors looking for a safehaven, the dollar rose against the euro and yen on Friday.
By mid-session, New York's Dow Jones index was down 40 points at 10,268.
Banks dragged down the FTSE 100 again, with Lloyds falling 2.4p to 48.7p and RBS down 0.9p to 29.8p.
The jitters on the market are seeing a shaky end to the final serious week of trading of 2009.
13.50
The FTSE 100 pulled back from the day's highs and was up 18 points at 5235.5 with the oil, mining and telecoms sectors accounting for most of the gains. Banks continue to hold the index back this afternoon.
13.05
With investors seemingly relieved that Ryanair has pulled out of buying 200 planes from Boeing, it is worth revisiting a broker upgrade from a week ago.
Cazenove moved Ryanair to 'outperform' from 'in-line' with one of the reasons thus: 'an order for a further 100 to 200 Boeing 737 aircraft is still feasible, and would have a defining impact on the group's strategy. Failure to secure an order could see zero capacity growth from 2013 and Ryanair concentrating on running the business for cash.' [Read more]
Investors eagerly bought the shares in anticipation of the cash. But what about growth from 2013? Expect a new strategy in the new year.
The shares were up more than 5% having eased back slightly - up 17c at €3.27.
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12.30
Gold had risen 1% by midday today, recouping some of the previous session's hefty 3.5% losses thanks to falls for the dollar versus the euro. The spot price for gold was at $1,109.60 an ounce, against $1,097.80 at the end of Thursday.
The FTSE 100 stood 15.9 points higher at 5233.5 at 12.30.
11.30:
The FTSE 100 index was up 52.2 points at 5,269.8.
10.45:
It is the 'triple witching' hour in the market today: contracts for stock index futures, index options and equity options expire at the same time.
'Everyone is happy to sit on their hands ahead of the expiries, with few reasons to get involved in the market anyway after yesterday's sell-off,' said Mic Mills, senior trader at ETX Capital.
Oil stocks rallied as the crude price firmed and they were also helped by an upbeat sector review from Goldman Sachs.
BP was a top FTSE 100 riser, with a 11.9p jump to 586.2p, after Goldman hiked its rating for the oil giant to 'buy' from 'neutral'. BG Group added 26.5p to 1,112p and Royal Dutch Shell A shares added 30p to 1829p, with the broker raising target prices for the two.
Vodafone was up 2.5p 142.4p after Nomura hiked its target price for the company in a review of European telecoms.
The same broker also issued an upbeat review of European utilities, raising target prices across the sector, which helped lift Scottish & Southern Energy (24p to 1,136p), Severn Trent (16p to 1,078p) and United Utilities (7.46p to 506p).
Healthcare products group Smith & Nephew was a top FTSE 100 riser, up 12.5p to 626p after UBS boosted its target price.
09.00: Opening trading
Lloyds Banking Group suffered further losses today as investors continued to worry about the impact of potential new demands on the industry.
Shares in the part-nationalised bank were 8% lower last night and fell another 2% today - 1.1p to 50p - after the Basel Committee of financial supervision signalled that extra capital should be put aside to prevent another crisis.
The Bank of England, however, said Britain's financial sector looked in better shape than it did six months ago, and it has urged banks to take advantage of current funding conditions to shore up balance sheets.
In its twice-yearly Financial Stability Report, the BoE said banks had benefited from a remarkable rise in asset prices over the past nine months and were finding it easier to raise capital.
Barclays fell 4.4p to 269.45p and Royal Bank of Scotland dropped 0.6p to 30.1p but the wider London market was higher, with the FTSE 100 index ahead 1.5 points at 5219, after a strong first hour of trading for mining stocks.
The commodities sector recovered from yesterday's losses with gains of 7.5p to 912.5p for Antofagasta and a rise of 21p to 2,402p for Vedanta Resources. Oil giant BP was 5.2p higher at 579.5p.
In a quiet session for corporate news, temporary power specialist Aggreko topped the FTSE 250 index risers' board after reporting better than expected trading for the fourth quarter. Shares were 3% or 25.5p higher at 860p after the company also forecast further progress next year.
Meanwhile, Ryanair's decision to pull out of the acquisition of 200 planes from Boeing was well received by investors. Shares were 4% higher - up 0.12 cents to €3.22 - as the airline said it would return cash to shareholders instead.
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