The London stock market saw another flat session today, with traders dealing nervously ahead of the reopening of Wall Street.
By mid-morning in London, the FTSE 100 Index was down 18 points at 4,925.6, after hovering around its opening level during early trading.
With the New York Stock Exchange not expected to open until Monday, traders were for a fourth day in a row without a lead from the US, and dealing was still subdued as traders continued to take in the tragic enormity of Tuesday’s events.
However, traders said that the mood was better than yesterday, and expressed confidence that the US’s Federal Reserve would provide liquidity to prop the markets up when they reopen.
In London, some of the biggest risers were the defence stocks, as international tension heightens, with BAE Systems up 12.5p at 361.5p and Smiths rising 33p to 721.5p.
Oil stocks were also rising on continuing speculation of a Middle East connection. Shell was up 17.5p to 521p while BP rose 12.5p to 562.5p.
But on the way down was British Airways, off 12%, down 23p at 173p. The airline is to resume some services from the UK to Canada today, although its flights to the US were still suspended pending new security measures from the US’s Federal Aviation Authority.
Concerns of a fall in travel also hit easyJet, down 10p at 301.5p, while aviation services group BBA slipped 5p to 233p, airports operator TBI was down 1.5p at 86p and BAA fell a penny to 533p.
Troubled telecoms equipment group Marconi also slid, off 6%, or 2p, at 32.5p. Union leaders were today meeting executives from Marconi to discuss the wave of redundancies announced by the company and to protest at the possibility of a huge payoff to former chief executive Lord Simpson.
Among the smaller stocks, convenience foods group Uniq slid 27%, off 50.5p to 134.5p after issuing a profits warning, at the same time as saying its chief executive was quitting.
EGi News 14/09/01
