The London market suffered a lacklustre session today as the FTSE 100 Index closed 11 points down at 5,809.4.
The recent recovery in shares in Britain’s part-nationalised banks was brought to a halt after reports that Germany is pressing Spain to delay its request for a bail-out unsettled traders.
Royal Bank of Scotland had enjoyed a decent run in recent weeks but finished more than 3% lower, off 8.9p to 257.5p, while Lloyds Banking Group was down 0.95p at 39p.
Meanwhile, Barclays was down 1.6p at 220.75p and HSBC was 7p cheaper at 580.5p.
Elsewhere, building supplies firm Wolseley had a mixed session after it announced a 10% rise in trading profits to £658million for the year to July 31. Shares closed 1p lower at £26.68 however.
Among the risers, supermarket Tesco was 2% higher ahead of results which are expected to show a 12% drop in half-year profits to £1.5billion. With investors holding out hopes for a stabilisation in UK sales, shares were up 5.7p at 336.7p.
Engineering support services company Babcock International was near the top of the risers board after it said it was confident of meeting expectations for the current financial year. Shares were up 2%, or 22.5p to 945p, as the century-old company said its order book and bid pipeline remained steady at £13billion.
The biggest FTSE 100 Index risers included International Airlines Group up 4.7p at 159p, BAE Systems up 6.8p at 334p and Fresnillo ahead 39p at £19.20.
Among the biggest fallers were Evraz off 7.4p at 246.3p and Croda International off 54p at £24.47.
Steven McKay, of investment manager and financial planning specialist Brewin Dolphin in Aberdeen, noted that BG Group moved 1.64% higher to £13, A.G. Barr added 1.23% to 452.55p and Cairn Energy gained 0.72% to close the day at 281.35p.
On the faller’s board, Parkmead softened 6% to 12.125p, Hunting slipped 2.65% to 826.25p and Petrofac fell 1.12% to £15.95.