FTSE 100 flat as EU budget talks continue
A lack of headway on the EU budget talks kept the leading share index broadly flat in trading this morning.
Eurasian Natural Resources was the biggest blue-chip riser, adding more than one per cent.
On the FTSE All-Share, holiday group Thomas Cook rose 5.44 per cent, while credit card CPP Group added 2.88 per cent.
Rig maker Lamprell increased 2.15 per cent. Earlier this week it warned that its full-year losses would be higher than expected.
Internet grocer Ocado added two per cent, following its £36m share placing earlier this week, which caused its shares to spike.
Elsewhere, telecoms firm TalkTalk rose almost two per cent.
At the top of the loser board this morning was Hochschild, the precious metals miner, losing 3.67 per cent. This morning it said it had been hit by delays to projects in Peru.
Other mining stocks also suffered. Coal miner Bumi fell almost three per cent, while Finnish miner Talvivaara lost 2.7 per cent. Platinum miner Lonmin, whose shareholders this week approved its $817m rights issue, fell more than two per cent.
Outside of the mining sector, pub group Punch Taverns sank 3.08 per cent and transmissions systems maker Torotrak lost 2.93 per cent.
UK banking shares were mainly in positive territory this morning. HSBC added 0.24 per cent, Barclays was up 0.25 per cent and Lloyds Banking Group jumped 0.35 per cent. Only RBS was down, losing 0.44 per cent.
In Asia, the Nikkei consolidated recent gains and closed up 1.56 per cent, and in the US the Dow Jones closed up 0.38 per cent.