FTSE 100 weakens amid choppy world trading
THE FTSE 100 has had a lacklustre session amid a mixed day for trading around the world.
The blue-chip index was down 17.94 points, or 0.22%, to close at 8,274.41 yesterday.
Global bank Standard Chartered was the day’s biggest riser with shares jumping more than 6%, helping offset losses for miners.
The firm was given a boost after announcing its largest ever share buyback, bringing its total since reporting 2023 full-year results to $2.7 billion (£2.1 billion).
It followed it reporting an increase in its earnings for the first six months of 2024, compared with the previous year.
At the other end of the scale, shares in Diageo fell by 5% after the spirits giant said its sales and profits dipped after a “challenging year”.
Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at online trading platform IG, said: “News from Standard Chartered has helped provide some support to the FTSE 100, but fresh weakness for mining stocks and Diageo’s poor results have cast a shadow over the index.
“The FTSE 100’s recent poor performance has seen its mid-cap cousin, the FTSE 250, move further ahead, as investors pile back into Uk-focused stocks despite the tough times ahead highlighted in the Chancellor’s statement yesterday.”
Meanwhile, in Paris, the Cac 40 index rose 0.42% and in Frankfurt, the Dax climbed 0.56%. Over in the US, the S&P 500 was down about 0.7%, with shares in Microsoft moving lower after the technology giant said it was investigating a potential new service outage.
Dow Jones was up about 0.1% by the time European markets closed.
The pound was down about 0.25% against the US dollar at 1.283, and down about 0.15% against the euro at 1.187.
The price of Brent crude oil was down around 1.5% to 79 US dollars per barrel.
In other company news, shares in Greggs jumped higher after the high street bakery chain reported strong profit growth for the first half of the year.
It also revealed its total sales rose by 14% to £960 million over the period. Its shares closed 5% higher.
Elsewhere, BP posted a higher-than-expected profit of more than £4.2 billion for the first half of 2024.
It also told shareholders it was increasing its dividend by 10% and extending its share repurchasing programme to the fourth quarter. Shares in BP were down 0.3% at close.
The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Standard Chartered, up 43.2p to 770p, Burberry, up 27.2p to 762.8p, Weir Group, up 70p to 2,000p, Admiral Group, up 66p to 2,737p, and Beazley, up 15p to 674p.
The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were Convatec, down 14.6p to 237.2p, Entain, down 32.6p to 564p, Diageo, down 129.5p to 2,418p, Croda, down 129p to 3,975p, and Anglo American, down 62.5p to 2,277p.