FTSE close: Banks lead gains, AZ relief

By Reuters
Updated: 12:16 EDT, 28 March 2011

17.10 (close)

Banking shares kept the London market aloft today following bullish comment on the sector from investment brokers.

But the FTSE 100 Index closed just 3.7 points higher at 5914.2, as the mining sector came under pressure from softer metal prices and concerns over Japan's nuclear crisis weighed on investors' minds.

The mood was lifted by positive data from the US which revealed consumer spending rose in February at the fastest pace in four months.

The pound was down against the euro at 1.13 ahead of tomorrow's final fourth-quarter GDP revision figures, as worries persist about the sustainability of the UK recovery in the face of rising inflation.

However, sterling was up against the US dollar at 1.60.

Banks provided support, aided by positive notes from both Barclays Capital and JP Morgan.

Barclays gained 2.4p at 292.4p, followed by Lloyds Banking Group up 0.5p at 60.6p and Royal Bank of Scotland ahead 0.3p at 42.4p.

Drugs giant AstraZeneca lost earlier gains after UK and US tax authorities reached agreement over the firm's tax affairs in a move that will boost earnings in 2011.

Under the agreement, AstraZeneca will pay out a total of 1.1bn US dollars (£689m) in taxes, which is less than it had budgeted for. Despite this shares closed 1.5p lower at 2872.5p.

Fashion house Burberry jumped nearly 2% after bank BNP Paribas added it to its list of merger and acquisition targets. Shares were up 31p at 1147p.

Weaker metal prices triggered losses for miners in London as copper giant Kazakhmys was 22p lower at 1425p, platinum group Lonmin fell 29p at 1659p and silver firm Fresnillo dropped 25p at 1535p.

BP continued to suffer after a Swedish tribunal put its £10 billion deal with Russian government-owned Rosneft on hold because of a dispute with shareholders at Russian partner TNK-BP.

The deal - hailed by BP as "groundbreaking" when unveiled in January - would have paved the way for BP and Rosneft to jointly explore the south Kara Sea in the Russian Arctic. Shares fell another 6.5p to 477.1p.

Elsewhere, shares in Irn-Bru maker AG Barr rose after it reported a 13.3% rise in annual profits and confirmed current year sales continued to rise.

The business - which also makes Tizer - said like-for-like sales rose by more than 10% for the second year running, helping it deliver underlying pre-tax profits of £31.6m in the year to January 29. Shares were up 46p at 1201p.

Shares at the publisher of the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday fell after it revealed nearly 200 fresh job cuts at its newspaper publishing arm and a worsening performance at its regional business. Daily Mail and General Trust shares dropped 3.9p to 499.1p.

The biggest Footsie risers were Resolution up 8.1p at 289.9p, Burberry ahead 31p at 1147p, ARM Holdings up 13.5p at 558.5p and International Power up 6.9p at 314.1p.

The biggest Footsie fallers were Intercontinental Hotels down 48p at 1229p, Man Group off 5.5p at 244.5p, Randgold Resources down 98p at 4638p and Lonmin off 29p at 1659p.

15.00: Over on Wall Street, the Dow Jones has followed London shares higher today.

The Dow is 42.5 points higher at 12,263.05.

Back in London, the Footsie is 6.11 points higher at 5906.87.

13.05:

The FTSE 100 has clung onto gains despite the the mining sector came under pressure from softer metal prices.

Weaker metal prices triggered losses for miners in London as copper giant Kazakhmys 37p lower at 1410p, platinum group Lonmin down 26p at 1662p and silver firm Fresnillo, 22p lower at 1538p, all suffered.

Despite that, the Footsie rose this norning and is now 7.71 points higher at 5908.47.

Traders were also treading water ahead of personal income and home sales data from the US.

BP continued to suffer after a Swedish tribunal put its £10bn deal with Russian government-owned Rosneft on hold.

The deal - hailed by BP as 'groundbreaking' when unveiled in January - would have paved the way for BP and Rosneft to jointly explore the south Kara Sea in the Russian Arctic. Shares were down 3.8p at 479.8p.

12.00:

At lunchtime, the FTSE 100 is flat, adding just 2.88 points to 5903.64.

10.50:

The FTSE is struggling to stay above water, now 8.5 points higher at 5909.23.

Cairn Energy continues its recent good form and has added another 8.6p - 2% - today to stand at 456.1p. It is the top riser among the blue chips this morning.

In currency the pound is at $1.5956 compared to $1.6018 at the previous close. Against the euro, the pound is at €1.134 compared to €1.1386 at the previous close.

On Wall Street later, the furues markets are expected a 22 point gain for the Dow Jones.

For a full report on AstraZeneca - now up 25.5p (0.9%) at 2,899.5p - click here.

09.35:

The FTSE 100 defied falls in Asia to rise today, with the banks gaining and AstraZeneca up as investors welcome the end to a tax dispute in the US.

Shares held firm in positive territory today despite fresh concerns over Japan's nuclear crisis and growing tensions in the Middle East.

Blue chip stocks maintained their recovery rally in the wake of the Japanese earthquake earlier this month, with the Footsie up another 19.8 points to 5920.6.

Investors shrugged off falls across Asia as Japan's struggle to stabilise a damaged nuclear reactor dragged on for a third week.

Fierce rebellion uprising in OPEC-member Libya kept oil prices in sharp focus.

Benchmark crude for May delivery slipped slightly to just over 105 dollars a barrel in Asian trading, while Brent crude hovered around 115.5 dollars a barrel in London.

Banks provided much of the support on the London market, led by Barclays up 4p to 294p and followed by Lloyds Banking Group with a gain of 0.6p to 60.7p.

Drugs giant AstraZeneca lifted more than 1% - up 3.5p to 2907.5p - after the UK and US tax authorities reached agreement over the firm's tax affairs in a move that will boost its earnings per share in 2011.

Elsewhere, Irn-Bru maker AG Barr lifted 25.5p to 1180.5p after reporting a 13.3% rise in annual profits and confirming current year sales continued to rise.