FTSE slips as oil price fears take toll
THE FTSE edged down in early trading as surging oil prices cast a shadow over global growth and a G20 meeting failed to provide reassurance about international help to crisis-struck Europe.
Rising tensions between Iran and the West are triggering rapid oil price rises as supply fears grow. Brent Crude marginally dropped in price this morning but uncertainty still reigned.
Adding uncertainty to the picture, a meeting of leading economies over the weekend said any further international help to Europe’s efforts in tackling its debt crisis will depend on the region’s countries strengthening their bailout fund first.
In banking HSBC, which is in the middle of shake-up of its operations under chief executive Stuart Gulliver, reported a 15 per cent rise in full year profits to £13bn.
However, the performance was a shade under analysts’ forecasts and its stock slipped by around one per cent.
Lloyds Banking Group was down around two per cent and Barclays 1.8 per cent as the sector overall was dented.
But Essar Energy was the biggest faller on the blue chip index dropping by 6.5 per cent after reporting a drop in full year earnings. The company has already seen its share price hit by a tax case in India, the hub of its operations.
Also in the resources sector miner Kazakhmys was off by 2.7 per cent. Engineer GKN nudged down by 2.2 per cent while among financial stocks broker Hargreaves Lansdown was the biggest faller, down by 2.3 per cent.
On the up side BP rose 1.4 per cent after a compensation case over the Gulf of Mexico spill was put back a week to give the oil giant a chance to cut an out-of-court deal.
Other risers included insurer Admiral, up 1.7 per cent, and retailer Marks & Spencer, 1.3 per cent.
But specialist delivery company Bunzl was the top riser gaining 2.5 per cent after reporting an 11 per cent jump in full year profit.
In Asia the Nikkei closed down 0.1 per cent and the Hang Seng 0.8 per cent.
The major corporate news in the region was that Japan’s Olympus Corp proposed a new board of directors in an effort to recover from a $1.7bn (£1bn) accounting fraud, but the line-up could face a hostile reception from foreign investors when it goes to a shareholder vote.
The maker of cameras and medical equipment said it had nominated an insider, executive officer Hiroyuki Sasa, to become president and former banker Yasuyuki Kimoto as chairman, subject to approval at its shareholders’ meeting on 20 April.
Across the Atlantic later pending US home sales data is due for release.