FTSE 100: 5916.55 ▼ -11.65 (-0.20%)
Britain’s FTSE 100 ended the week on a sour note in Friday trade as decisive action on the Greek bond dilemma failed to materialise.
The benchmark UK index of blue-chip shares dropped 1.07%, or 61 points, to 5,734 and the Mid-250 index lost 0.5%, or 54 points, to 10,855.
Despite the poor performance, the FTSE 100 closed the week up, adding five points, and the Mid-250 rose 29 points.
Citywire Top Stock® BP (BP.L) fell back 12.2p, or 2.6%, to 465p as the oil giant lost its bid to foist $15 billion of the clean-up costs for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill onto drilling partner Transocean.
Following the court’s decision, Transocean shares rose for the first time in five months on the Zurich stock exchange. See the FTSE’s performance and the index’s top winners and losers.
In Davos eurozone finance officials were adamant that a deal to stop a Greek default was nearing. However, markets weren’t convinced, and continued their retreat to close down on the day.
Michael Hewson, analyst at CMC Markets, said: ‘European markets have slipped back heading into the weekend with the same concerns hanging over them as last week, namely a resolution to the Greece debt restructuring talks.
'There is also rising concern about the state of Portugal’s finances as its bond yields blow out towards 15% and the yield curve inverts on fears that it could well go the same way as Greece, and need some form of debt restructuring,’ he added.
Poor figures from the US and Europe saw markets remain low in Friday trade.
Spanish unemployment passed 5 million in the last quarter of 2011, the highest rate of unemployment in 17 years.
Other stock markets in Europe fell back: Germany’s DAX index lost 0.43% to 6,512, France's CAC 40 index fell 1.32% to 3,319, and the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares dropped 0.96% to 1,042.
US gross domestic product (GDP) increased from 1.3% to 2.5% in the last quarter of 2011, but the reading caused concern that growth will slow this year as demand for goods weakens.
On Wall Street markets fell further on the news: The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.68% to 12,647, the Standard & Poor's 500 index inched down 0.37% to 1,314, and the Nasdaq Composite index softened 0.09% to 2,808.
Retailer Next (NXT.L) rose 45p, or 1.7%, to £26.39 to the top of the index as researchers at AlphaValue upgraded the stock to a ‘buy’ and increased its price target from £34.68 to £34.81.
The store made gains in a difficult Christmas market, and total sales increased 3.1% from August 1 to December 24, mostly supported by its online and home-ordering services.
Intercontinental Hotels (IHG.L) slipped 36p, or 2.7%, to £13.21 as UBS cut its rating on the group from ‘neutral’ to ‘sell’.
Shares in the hotel have risen 35% since November, and analysts at the bank said they were downgrading the stock as they are ‘relatively cautious on European hotel stocks for 2012’.
Among Citywire Top Stocks® Imagination Technologies (IMG.L) added 1.5p, or 0.3%, to 581p; Galliford Try (GFRD.L) fell 7p, or 1.5%, to 470p; and African Minerals (AMI.L) shed 23.5p, or 4.2%, to 540p.
Miners reversed Thursday’s gains to lead the retreat on the FTSE 100 on US growth concerns. Kazakhmys (KAZA.L) lost 34p, or 2.9%, to £11.60; Antofagasta (ANTO.L) dropped 42p, or 3%, to £13.48; and Polymetal International (POLYP.L) fell 27p, or 2.3%, to £11.25.
Comments (9)
Presumably the eorozone leaders and those expecting Greece to agree to terms that would only put off the day of default remain in cloud cuckoo land, now firmly in EU territory.
18:27 on 27 January 2012
Greece should default and tell the bankers, including our own bonus-gorged pigs who are holding its debt, go to hell. Investing carries risks.
And we should not be feeling holier that thou because we too are defaulting by 5% per year with inflation.
18:56 on 27 January 2012
Greece should default and tell the bankers, including our own bonus-gorged pigs who are holding its debt, go to hell. Investing carries risks.
And we should not be feeling holier that thou because we too are defaulting by 5% per year with inflation.
18:56 on 27 January 2012
Franco the problem is that German banks are heavily exposed to Greek debt.
If Greece defaults & brings the German banking system down then its time to head for the hills.Things will get very unpleasant indeed.
19:13 on 27 January 2012
Another example of the poor standard of journalism so typical of City Wire.
Does Caelainn Barr understand the meaning of the word 'foist'.
In the case of the 'Deep Water Horizon' disaster,BP has a duty both to it's shareholders, and the public at large, to establish truth in this matter.
The actions of BP and it's CEO at the time of ther disaster, are a marked contrast to that of the American owners of the Costa Concordia.
21:23 on 27 January 2012
Well said Raymond Hurley, a few more references to 'The American owned Company Costa Concordia' in the style of Obama and his British bashing during Deepwater might put the frits up some would be cruisers.
10:36 on 28 January 2012
.
Does Caelainn Barr understand the meaning of the word 'foist'.
FOIST
Impose an unwelcome or unnecessary person or thing on: "don't let anyone foist inferior goods on you".
And your point was....?
12:45 on 28 January 2012
The word 'foist', implies that somehow, the actions of BP are unjustified.
BP has every right to try and recover costs from the two American sub contractors, that have so far attempted to evade their share of responsibility for the disaster.
BP met all of it's obligations.This stands in stark contrast to the behaviour of both Transocean and Haliburton.
15:14 on 28 January 2012
seahound
You have the nub of the problem but, as Liam Halligan has repeated almost ad nauseam "Until the banks fess up to their indebtedness" these problems won't be resolved. This begs the question as to just how big such indebtedness is. At present everyone seems to be putting off the evil day.
15:52 on 28 January 2012
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