Brighter banking stocks helped the FTSE 100 Index recover from a dismal start today.
Fears over war and terrorism dragged the FTSE 47 points lower in the opening minutes before it pulled itself back onto an even keel.
And by mid-morning the blue-chip index was 2.6 points lower at 3613.5 with banks dominating the list of risers.
That was after Barclays cheered investors following a dismal downward run ahead of the sector’s reporting season.
The City appeared relieved that annual figures from the bank did not contain any surprises – even though it reported a 6% decline in pre-tax profits due to provisions it has been forced to make for bad loans.
Shares rose 6% or 19.5p to 361.5p while Lloyds TSB lifted 14.75p to 424.75p, Royal Bank of Scotland gained 30p to £14.79p and Abbey National rose 8.5p to 425p.
Even Bank of Scotland owner HBOS improved 12p to 601p despite being hit with a £750,000 fine by the City’s watchdog for putting 30,000 PEP and ISA customers “at risk of losing money”.
Other risers during a busy session for corporate news included consumer products giant Unilever, up 15.5p to 526p, after reporting a rise in profits on the back of growth in its core brands.
But telecoms giant BT saw its shares fall almost 5%, down 9p to 174p after it announced a fall in third quarter pre-tax profits and warned it expected a £1.5bn pension deficit for 2002.
Centrica was also hit despite reporting a 48% rise in full year profits after it warned shareholders its ambitions in North America depended on the “availability and pace of key acquisition opportunities”.
Shares slumped 6%, or 10p to 156p to head the FTSE fallers’ board.
Outside the top flight, threads group Coats surged 18% or 8.25p to 53p as it confirmed it had received a takeover approach from a group of shareholders led by Guinness Peat group.
References: EGi News 13/02/2003
