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FTSE 100 slips after oil prices drop
Britain’s leading share index slipped on Thursday, weighed down by weakness in heavyweight energy stocks after recent gains, with investors also looking ahead to futures and option expiries.
At the close, the FTSE 100 index was down 4.71 points, or 0.1 per cent.
BP shares dropped 1.26 per cent, while Cairn Energy shares fell 1.46 per cent, ending at a price of £331.40.
Shire was the top blue chip faller, down 3.14 per cent as the drugmaker bought US biotech firm FerroKin BioSciences in hopes of expanding its position as a specialist drug supplier.
Meanwhile, Lloyds Banking Group shares rose 2.82 per cent, after an announcement yesterday to sell off £1bn of distressed loans made to Australian residential property developers.