FTSE 100 Clambers into the Blue

The FTSE 100 index slipped 27.41 points, or 0.64%, on Thursday to close within sight of the 4,200 point mark, at 4,252.57.

Dominic Turner
shareprices.com - Friday, June 26, 2009

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British Airways

Selling left stocks undervalued, according to traders, however, and the benchmark index recovered during morning trading on Friday, rising 8 points, or 0.2%, to 4,260.64, by midday. Numerically, there were more risers than fallers amongst FTSE 100 constituent companies, but the presence of heavyweight constituents amongst the fallers ensured that, overall, the index was only just in the blue.

The Bank of England said, in its latest Financial Stability Report, that banks are in a healthier position than six months ago, although they are still vulnerable to economic shock. Share prices in Royal Bank of Scotland and HSBC, nevertheless, rose by 2.4% and 0.9% respectively. British Airways was also going well, up 2.4p, or 1.9%, at 129p, after it announced that 7,000 of its staff had agreed to a voluntary pay cut, and a further 800 had agreed to work for nothing for a month. Crude oil remained above $71 a barrel, and oil majors BG Group, BP and Royal Dutch Shell rose between 0.2% and 1.3%.

The media regulator, Ofcom ("Office of Communications"), warned satellite broadcaster, BSkyB, that exclusive access to major sporting events – Premier League football, in particular – and Hollywood film releases was having a "detrimental effect on consumers", according to the Reuters website. Ofcom said that it may be necessary to force BSkyB to share its content with other broadcasters, although a spokesman for BSkyB described the intervention as "unwarranted". BSkyB's share price rose slightly, up 1½p, or 0.33%, at 453¼p.

 

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