Banking stocks were under pressure on the London Stock Exchange today, as investors worried what a price war on mortgages might cost the big banks.
The move by building society Nationwide yesterday to drop its base mortgage rate for new and existing customers was followed today by Halifax, Britain’s biggest mortgage bank, which cut its rate and offered daily interest.
The moves raised fears of a wider mortgage price war, and banking stocks were weaker as a result. Halifax was down 11p at 697p, Barclays was down 16p at £22.92, Lloyds TSB was off 2p at 668p and Alliance & Leicester was 11p lighter at 698p.
On the wider market, however, the FTSE-100 Index of leading stocks was being supported by a rally among techs and telecoms.
After the first hour, the FTSE was up 30.6 points at 6124.6, with Colt Telecom leading the FTSE risers, up 63p at £14.25. Other telecoms also gained ground, with BT up 10p at 620p, Vodafone ahead 2p at 200p and Telewest Communications 2p stronger at 135p.
Among tech stocks, computer services group Logica was up 54p, chip designer Arm rose to 415p and electronics firm Marconi was 14p stronger at 551p.
EGi News 20/02/01
