A positive quarter for the London stock market ended on a negative note today as investors continued to tread cautiously amid eurozone fears.
The FTSE 100 Index was up by more than 3% in the third quarter, but some of the progress seen after recent stimulus efforts by central bankers has come unstuck because of uncertainty over whether Spain would accept a bail-out and the FTSE 100 Index declined 37.3 points to 5,742.1 today.
In London’s top flight shares index, Elephant and Diamond insurer Admiral was one of the biggest fallers after the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) referred the private motor insurance market to the Competition Commission for a probe that could drag on for up to two years.
Admiral was off 32p at £10.53, while More Than insurer RSA Insurance was 1.5p lower at 110.5p.
Elsewhere, travel firm Thomas Cook rose 9% or 1.5p to 17.5p after saying its turnaround plan was on track with signs of financial improvement.
Five-a-side football operator Goals Soccer Centres fell 5% after it tapped investors for £2.8million in a placing priced at 115p a share to boost its balance sheet. Shares in the East Kilbride-based group fell 6p to 116.5p.
The biggest FTSE 100 Index risers were Fresnillo up 75p at £18.53, Polymetal International ahead 25p at £10.85, Randgold Resources up 140p at £76.15 and Antofagasta ahead 16p at £12.62.
Among the biggest fallers were Compass down 21p at 683.5p, Anglo American down 30.5p at £18.17 and International Airlines Group off 2.5p at 149p.
Alan MacPhee, of investment manager and financial planning specialist Brewin Dolphin in Aberdeen, noted that Xcite Energy rose 5.06% to close at 108.625p, with Aberdeen Asset Management adding 0.84% to 311.1p.
The day’s fallers included FirstGroup down 4.46% to 240.2p and A.G. Barr down 1.08% to 449.6p.