Banking shares dragged London’s leading shares index lower today amid continuing fears that more lenders will be embroiled in the rate-rigging scandal.
The FTSE 100 Index fell 3.3 points to 5,684.5, with Lloyds Banking Group down 0.2p at 31.7p, Royal Bank of Scotland off 2p at 214.5p and HSBC 2.7p lower at 567.6p.
Barclays was down 1.1p at £1.66 after stockbroker Oriel Securities cut its target price, saying it expected Barclays Capital to be wound down.
The beleaguered lender’s shares are significantly lower than the £1.96 at which they opened last Thursday before the bank saw around £3billion wiped from its market value as the Libor-fixing affair escalated.
Tullow Oil was among the biggest fallers in London’s top flight after it said earnings will take a £280.4million hit as it writes off assets following unsuccessful drilling campaigns. It was down 2%, or 29p at £15.02.
Other big fallers included Vedanta Resources down 19p at £9.42, Aviva off 5.5p at 281.4p and Babcock 13p lower at £8.71.
ends
The biggest Footsie risers were Aberdeen Asset Management up 8.8p at 263.8p, Glencore ahead 8.3p at 312.1p, Xstrata up 14.4p at 820.8p, and GKN ahead 3p at 186.6p.
Outside the top flight, housebuilder Taylor Wimpey was down 2.5%, or 1.3p at 48p even though it said its markets remained stable and it expected to report an improved performance for the first half of 2012.
Support services company Carillion fell 3%, or 9p to 273.1p after it said UK Government cuts hit first-half revenue.
International Greetings was up 5%, or 2.5p to 53.8p after it reported a jump in annual profits driven by a surge in greeting cards sales in the UK.
Alan MacPhee, of investment manager and financial planning specialist Brewin Dolphin in Aberdeen, noted A.G. Barr up 1.46% at 421.55p and Premier Oil ahead 0.63% to 364.2p.
Faroe Petroleum was off 3.67% to 144.5p and Hunting down 1.5% to 753.75p.
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