Disappointment over the US Federal Reserve’s failure to offer clear signals of imminent economy boosting measures sent the FTSE 100 Index into the red today.
London’s blue chip share index reversed earlier gains to close 8 points lower at 5,711.5 amid investor frustration after the Fed’s chairman Ben Bernanke failed to provide a strong hint of its next policy move.
Miners recovered from recent weakness on the FTSE 100 however, with Xstrata and Glencore top of the risers board despite growing shareholder dissent over their merger.
Glencore rose 8% or 27.6p to 385.1p, while Xstrata lifted 51.2p to 952.2p.
Cruise ship firm Carnival fell more than 1% or 26p to £21.59 amid concerns over the impact of tropical storm Isaac on its operations along the Gulf Coast.
Outside the top flight, housebuilder Redrow was 4.1p higher at 155.1p after chairman Steve Morgan tabled a takeover approach for the company he founded in 1974. While the proposal of 152p a share is below the current price, it represents a 24% premium on Redrow’s average price over the last three months.
Frankie & Benny’s and Chiquito parent Restaurant Group rose 2% or 7.5p to 329.5p as it posted a 7% rise in profits and said it would open 30 sites this year.
The biggest Footsie risers included Petrofac ahead 41p to £15.02 and Intertek up 70p to £28.15.
Among the biggest Footsie fallers were Eurasian Natural Resources down 4.6p to 301.9p, Sainsbury’s off 4.9p to 327.6p, Centrica down 4.8p to 326.7p and Severn Trent down 25p to £17.31.
David Barclay, of investment manager and financial planning specialist Brewin Dolphin in Aberdeen, noted that Xcite Energy finished the week on a high, closing 6.16% up at 110.5p. Meanwhile, Cairn Energy rebounded to 286.25p having gained 4.74%.
Amongst the fallers, A G Barr lost 1.73% at 420.55p. Elsewhere, Faroe Petroleum gave up 1.22% at 141.75p.